英语议论文的写作技巧（汇编20篇）

小升初的脚步越来越近，要知道小升初是每位家长和孩子人生的转折，小编收集了小升初记事作文写作技巧，欢迎阅读。

一、记事中要围绕中心，抓住重点，不要面面俱到。重点部分(一般指事情发展高潮处)要详写，写具体，写详尽，给读者以深刻的印象。

二、写事不能离不开写人。同此在记事过程中，一定要把人物的语言、神态、动作、心理活动等写细致，写逼真，这样才能表达出人物的思想品质，才能更好地表达这件事所包含的意义，即文章的中心思想。

三、必须把事情发生的环境写清楚。因为任何事情总是在一定的环境中发生、发展的。环境写好了，写出特点来，还能渲染气氛，表达感情，使文章更生动。

四、要交代清楚时间、地点、人物、事件。让读者明白文章写的是什么人，在什么时候，什么地方发生了怎样的事。

五、找出事件闪光点。如果根据题目的要求选定了某件事，你就要对这件事进行认真的回忆，并仔细琢磨，反复思考，挖掘出这件事中含有的生活道理，或找出它闪光的地方。

六、小升初学生必须把事情发生的环境写清楚。因为任何事情总是在一定的环境中发生、发展的。环境写好了，写出特点来，还能渲染气氛，表达感情，使文章更生动。

一、遇到“很”和“非常”想一想

对于文章写不长的孩子，可以训练的另一个技巧是：遇到“很”和“非常”想一想。看过无数学生习作，指导老师发现出现频率最高的字眼包括“很，非常”，请家长提醒孩子，遇到要写这几个字时不要轻易下笔，停下来想一想，是不是非要出现这个字眼?

比如写热，别出现“很热”两个字，学会用其他的描写来体现热：骄阳似火，没有一丝风，树叶低垂毫无生气……文章自然就能写长。

二、环境里面有“真”“情”

到了五六年级孩子都要学习环境描写。如有的孩子会写：“早上天气还挺好的，放学回家时，却哗哗下起雨来。雨珠在下，泪珠在滴，老天也好像在为我哭泣。”

孩子能用环境衬托自己的心情首先要表扬。但是很多孩子只要一写环境，肯定就是小花微笑，小草点头、小鸟歌唱、小雨哭泣，成了套路，难道世界上只有小草、小鸟、小花吗?为什么不能写身边更真实的东西呢?云、雾、桌子，哪怕是电线杆都可以写，这个技巧是提醒孩子不仅要让人活在环境里，还要让人活在真实的环境里。

三、不用成语

作文为什么写不长?都是成语惹的祸!指导老师此言一出震惊四座。不是说多用成语才显得有文采吗?其实不然，在“就是不用成语”写作技巧中，阅卷老师指出：当作文中只会按照套路使用成语时，文章细节就没了，还不如让孩子老老实实把自己看到的感受都写出来。什么天高云淡、风和日丽、桃红柳绿、炯炯有神、心旷神怡……这些被用滥的成语还是少出现为妙。

比如，写春天别用“风和日丽”，而是这样写：“风儿拂过林梢，原本平静的湖面漾起了圈圈涟漪，湖边的柳树轻摇着身姿，我也忍不住张开双臂，任风抚过我的每一寸肌肤，暖暖的，痒痒的。”想办法用具体的句子替换掉别人用滥的成语，解决孩子作文写不长写不细的难题。

四、写说不单写“说”

让孩子比较以下三句话。

张三说：“……”;

张三无可奈何地说：“……”;

张三摊了摊手，一副无可奈何的样子：“……”

显然，让人物说话有多种方式，写语言可以不用出现“说”而是在语言前面加上动作和神态，通过一定的训练掌握这样的技巧让孩子的写作水平切实得到提升，让他们学会细节描写，不会仅干巴巴的地写“某某说”。

五、字数三四五

这个技巧说白了就是学习写短句。学了一段时间写作的孩子容易在作文中写长句，而长句写不好就变成病句。事实上很多作家也是以写短句见长的，像沈从文、汪曾祺。家长要提醒孩子注意控制每句话的字数，建议把十几个字几十个字的长句改成只有三四五个字的短句，孩子们会发现这样的作文有语感会舒服很多。

如某学生的原文：“高高的绿绿的草散发着诱人的清香。一根一根都看得那么清楚，很挺拔的样子。”经指导后改成：“草绿了，高了，散发着清香。一根一根，看得清清楚楚，很挺拔的样子。”是不是很有节奏感?

六、一秒钟的事写三百字

还是针对作文写不长的一种技巧训练：用三百字来描写1秒钟内发生的事。如关于破校运会跳高纪录瞬间的描写原本只有几十字：只见某某纵身一跳，一下子飞过横杆，新的校运会纪录诞生了!

怎么变成三百字?可以有条理地加上动作解剖：如何助跑、起跳、翻越、落地;加上联想：往届校运会有人挑战失败，平时如何一次次练习等等;还可以加上细节来充实，起跳前如何与同学们进行眼神交流，成功后同学如何向他祝贺……家长可以找一些1秒钟的素材让孩子进行写作练习，学会了这个技巧还怕考试写不出四五百字吗?

七、写想不出现“想”

遇到描写心理活动时，这样的句子已经被孩子们写滥：“我脑子里跳出两个小人，一个小人……另一个小人……”不用这个句子又该怎么写?最常用的就是“我心想”。如某学生写：“数学老师出了一道难题要带回家写的。我心想：天哪!这该怎么办呢?”

按照指导老师“写想不用想”的技巧，去掉：“我心想”三个字如何?“数学老师出了一道难题要带回家写的。天哪!这该怎么办呢?”是不是更简洁精练?别忘了提醒孩子要给心理描写加上适当感叹词。

八、要动连着动

文章要一波三折才好看，但现在的孩子生活都很平淡，你不能强求他们写出一波三折的内容，那就让他们学会一波三折地使用动词，就这是要动连着动——学会连续使用动词。某学生写一场乒乓球球赛：“他发了一个旋转球，让人看得眼花缭乱。”(一句话把文章就给写完了)

学会动词技巧后将修改成：“只见他高高地将球抛起，眼睛死死盯着，球接触球板的一瞬间，他手腕轻轻一抖，脚一跺，球高速旋转着，向这边飞来，让人看得眼花缭乱。”一个动词转瞬变成六七个，文字即刻灵动丰富起来。

九、一段话里至少出现6个标点

很多孩子不会用标点，习作中常只有逗号句号逗号句号，甚至逗号都没有，把老师读到断气为止。针对这个现象，可以让孩子进行“一段话至少出现6种标点”的技巧训练。比如，。?!……：“”

这些标点你的作文中都有吗?没有的话请尝试用起来。经过几次训练后，你会发现孩子的惊人变化：意味深长的句子会写了、人物语言会加进去了，心理活动结合进去了，还会用反问句了，这些句子加进去后，文章当然生动起来。一位作家就曾用这种方法对自己作文写不好的孩子进行训练，收效明显，进步很快。

十、写外貌不用“有”

作文如何写外貌?孩子的作文里总会看到类似这样的名子：“XX可漂亮了，她有一头卷卷的黄头发，有一双乌黑的葡萄般的大眼睛，有一个高高的鼻子，还有一张樱桃小嘴。”

如果你试着让他们去掉文中的“有”，把文字重新串联一遍，会发现作文顺了很多。写上段文字的同学经指导后修改如下：“XX可漂亮啦。一头卷卷的黄头发自然地披在肩上。她的眼睛太吸引人了，乌黑乌黑葡萄一般。高高的鼻子，和樱桃小嘴配合起来，有点混血的味道，同学们可喜欢她啦。”是不是读起来舒服多了?

反映校园生活的作文，我们不仅可以写广大中学生丰富多彩的校园生活。也可以写浓厚的师生悄谊、紧张丰富的学生生活、平等互助团结友爱的同学友情。还可以写教育教学改革的新讯息。也就是说，从反映校园生活的作文中可以看出新时代中学生的特点。当代教师的形象，新型的师生关系，现代丰富多彩的课堂生活。那么，这些纷繁复杂的材料我们该如何选材呢?文学大师茅盾曾经说过：。园艺家常常把太多的落曹摘去，只留下二三个。这样就得到了特别大的花朵：这个比喻大致可以说明创作过程中剪裁的必要。我们围绕中心选择材料后，还要根据表达中心的需要确定哪些材料是主要的，要详写，哪些材料是次要的，要略写，以突出文章的中心。详写。可以用详细的叙述再现事悄的过程，给读者留下探刻的印象。突出中心事件;也可以通过细致的描写，刻画人物的形象，突出主要人物。略写是为了使文章脉络清晰，叙述清楚。详略要相辅相成，怡到好处。不能有详无略。或有略无详，使文章如涟水赚或策冗拖沓，影响了文章的表达。

写校园生活的文章多半是记叙文，相当多的是以记事为主的文章。那么，如何使自己的叙述有条理呢?最重要的一条就是安排好叙事的顺序。先叔述什么，后叙述什么。这样条理就会清楚了。如叙述一件事。无沦它是简单还是复杂，都要有起因、经过、结果这样一个完整的过程。在叙述一件事情时，必须先把这件事的来龙去脉弄清楚，然后按事情的起因、经过、结果的顺序来叙述。如果叙述几件事悄。就必须先理出这几件事情相互间的关系，这种联系成表现为性质上有同有异，或表现为时间上有先有后。要说清楚先后联系的几件事情，可以按照事情发生的先后顺序来写，即采用顺叙的方法;为了突出中心事件，也可以把叙事的高潮或结局放在文章的开头，整箱文章采用倒叙的方法;还可以在叙事的过程中适当地穿插其他有关内容。不管运用哪一种记叙的方法。都应当符合表现中心的需要。

学生和老师是学校的主人。在反映校园生活题材的作文中，有相当一部分是写人的记叙文。这些作文的主人公当然就是学生和老师。

[中考作文写作技巧：校园生活类

一、描述图画

图画作文对图画的描述应在第一段进行，且最好在首句即开始。此类作文大部分是一幅图，也会有两幅图出现的情况。如果出现两幅图，则很有可能是突显对比的情况。

图画上可能没有任何文字，也可能在上面出现了一句话，也可以单个人物说话或两个人物对话，也可能在图画外写了总结性的一句话。大家注意，这一句话或两句话一般是非常重要的，应予译出。

一般说来，对图画的描写不必过长，应以简练、准确为标准。

二、图画类作文结构分析

我们想象中的最典型最理想的图画题提纲应该是下面这样：

1. 描述图画

2. 推导绘画者的意图

3. 做出评论

对于这一提纲我们来做具体分析，其中第三点更要细致研究。首先由图画引出一种社会现象或社会问题，可以是好的，也可以是不好的。在推导绘画者的意图时多是展开说此现象或问题的表现，以证明其引人注目。还有一种可能性是说此现象或问题产生的原因，提纲可直接列出，或还用上述提纲。这时可把简单意图推导直接放到第一段描述图画之后，而在第二段中说原因。

第三段做出评论，有可能只是简单评论、深化主题就结束，但这种可能性越来越小了。这一部分很可能说的是办法，不好的事情就是如何解决的办法，好的事情就是如何进一步发展的方法。

通过上述列表，我们可以看出，多年以来，真实的提纲是怎样一步步地向我们想象中的理想模式靠近的。对于提纲里面出现的变化和规律，我们来分析一下。

我们仔细分析，会发现历年考研真题基本上都呈现"现象或问题——原因解释——解决办法"这样的模式，但变化非常多。因为我们谈论的既可以是一件值得弘扬的好事，也可能是一个令人忧心忡忡的社会问题;针对后者我们极有可能需要提出做法;而对于前者，可能解释一下就结束了，也可能要写出相应的做法。

综上所述，可以看出，比起图表作文来，图画作文要更灵活，更富于变化。我们一定要多练习，以达到一看到图画(含图中和图边文字)和提纲(有时有文章标题)就能有效地审题解题，构造出合理的具体段落的目的。

考研英语写作：应用文写作之感谢信

大纲对应用文写作的评价目标是：考生应能根据所设情景，写出不同类型的应用文，包括私人和公务信函、备忘录、摘要、报告等。写作时。考生应能：

1） 做到语法、拼写、标点正确、用词恰当；

2）遵循文章的特定问题格式；

3）合理组织文章结构，使其内容统一、连贯；

4）根据写作目的和特定读者，选用恰当语域。

应用文写作不需要华丽的辞藻和多变的句式，只需要能够用简洁概括的语言将事情叙述清楚就能够取得不错的成绩。应用文写作作为考研英语中性价比比较高的题目，考生必须重视对其复习。应用文写作可以充分借鉴模板，以达到更好的复习效果。下面，就为考生介绍一下感谢信的基本写作方法。

感谢信的目的是感激对方为自己的付出，感激之情要传达得真挚自然，不要刻意夸大。感谢信所涉及的内容多种多样，比如可以感谢对方替自己做了一件事情，在自己痛苦时安慰了自己，出席了自己的宴会等等。其内容包括：1)表达感激之情2)回顾事情的经过 3)肯定对方帮助的价值以及对自己的影响，表达自己回报的愿望。

常用套语有：

1表达感激之情：

Thanks so much for…;Abundant thanks to … for…

Im writing to express my heartfelt thanks for …

On behalf of my whole family, I wish to extend our heartfelt thanks for all the trouble you had taken in …I must write to thank you for inviting me to…

2肯定对方帮助的价值及影响：

You will never know how much we appreciated your kind and practical help. Your …meant more than I can express in words. Nothing can be more precious for me than your…

3表达回报的愿望：

I hope I can return the favor someday … Do call on me if I can ever return the favor. 感谢信中比较特殊是求职者面试后给面试官写的信。

此类感谢信的内容不只是感谢，而是一般感谢信和求职信的结合。其主要内容包括：(1)感谢对方给你面谈的机会，并注明你面试的时间和所求的职位;(2) 说明你对该公司、该职位的兴趣，强调你的知识与技能符合公司的需要，表示自己能为公司的发展做出贡献。也可以补充说明或澄清在面谈中忽略或没有讲明的问题 (3)重申你对该职位的兴趣，主动提供更多的材料，表示期待他们的消息。

Directions: You have just attended an interview in Apfel Incorporated for the position of marketing analyst. Write a letter of appreciation to the interviewer Mr. David Wayne. Your letter should include the following points:

1) express your appreciation for the interview

2) tell about your job-related skills and experience

实例：

Dear Mr. Wayne，

Thank you very much for taking the time from your busy schedule last Friday to interview me for the marketing analyst position at Apfel Incorporated. After our meeting, I am convinced that your company is an excellent place for my career.

I am extremely excited about the position and believe that my skills are a good match for the company. As you may remember, I completed a project that is similar in nature to the work I

would be doing at your company. I believe that I could make an immediate contribution to Apfel Incorporated.

Please let me know if I can provide you with any additional information about my background or goals. My email address is LiMing@yahoo.com, and my phone number is 12345678. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Li Ming

(一)紧扣命题意图和写作要求

拿到作文题目后，要先弄清楚题目的意义、范围、中心，确定文章的体裁、题材、字数要求，再围绕中心选择材料，合理布局谋篇，运用恰当的表达方式进行写作。

1、确立准确的内容——在最短的时间内找到最适合自己的写作内容

(1)思维的发散

在落笔成文前，一定要慎重，要考虑到尽可能多的写作内容。

①充分利用作文题中的提示性语言，获得写作内容

如：也许你被真挚的母爱感动过，也许你被善良的帮助感动过，也许你为奥运会场升起的五星红旗流过热泪，也许你为无私的友谊掀起过情感的波澜……

请以“感动”为话题写一篇作文，文体不限，题目自拟。

作文题中的“也许…也许……也许……也许……”的提示语，没有内容写的同学完全可以把这段话作为自己的写作材料，写母爱、帮助、友谊等带给自己的感动。

②开辟独特、新颖的角度

A、类似联想

如由“花与刺”联想到阳光与阴影、成功与挫折、优点与缺点等。

B、内敛式联想

由如“英雄”联想到课堂上的英雄、公交车上的英雄、联欢会上的英雄等

C、逆反式联想

如由“心事”联想到“我没有心事”;由“感动”联想到自己是不懂感动的人，在母爱面前一点一点被征服被融化被感动的过程。

D、虚实转换联想

如写“位置”，可以实写班级的座位、一个人的职务等，也可以虚写自己在别人心目中的地位，人在自然界中的地位等等。

(2)思维的归纳

①写自己熟悉的内容——不要选择自己一知半解的事情作为写作材料。

②写自己能驾驭的内容——由自己的认知水平、思想深度和语言表达能力决定。

2、突出明确的中心

(1)符合题意

准确把握文章题目的范围和内涵，注意培养明确点明中心的意识。为此，可在文章内容构思好后，围绕中心编写几句(段)话，将它们安插在文章的开头、结尾或者文章的过渡、转折的地方，既提醒自己不要偏离中心，也提醒阅卷老师你有明确的中心意识。

(2)提升中心的品位

①要有深刻的思想

②有小中见大的眼光

③有化实为虚的能力

④有时代意识

⑤有新颖的角度

例如：以“风”为话题的作文，可以化实为虚，由不同季节的风的特点联想到不同性格的人;可以联系时代，写社会上的各种风气;可以联系自己，写中学生中流行的一些风气;可以由风想到沙尘暴等社会问题;由风想到关于风筝的记忆┅┅

(二)构思

1、探究下笔的角度

(1)视角的转换

同样一件事，观察者的身份、角度、立场、观念、态度不同，得到的印象和结论也不会相同。如果我们能换一个视角来叙述生活中的平凡小事，就能发掘出新意来。如同样是写“我”在公共汽车上让座，有位同学的满分作文就改变了习惯的视角，借一位需要座位的老大爷的心灵和眼睛，生动表现了一位中学生在让座与不让座之间徘徊犹豫的复杂矛盾的心理。

(2)故事新编

对于人人所熟知的材料，我们可以结合主题，从全新的角度下笔，设计出合理的细节，使自己地文章脱颖而出。如“诚信”为话题的满分作文《赤兔之死》，题材出自《三国演义》中关羽走麦城一节，通过虚构的赤兔马与伯喜的对话，对比董卓、吕布、关羽等人在诚信方面的表现，最后得出“士为知己而死，人因诚信而存”的观点。

故事新编必须注意三个方面：①对原着有较清晰的印象，避免张冠李戴，闹出笑话;

③想象要合理;③要突出中心。

(三)表达技巧

1、重视描写的运用

(1)描写人物语言——生动活泼、有个性

(2)描写人物动作——细描个体动作、精写连续动作(见片段1、2)

(3)描写人物心理——以景物映衬、以动作和神态暗示

(4)描写人物肖像——个体神态、描画笑容

(5)描写景物——映衬写景(衬托人物心理)、以景析理(情景交融)

2、精妙的表现手法

(1)借物抒情，化直接为含蓄，如《背影》

(2)妙用修辞，蕴深意于物象，如片段3

(3)双线展开，相得益彰，如片段4

(4)借助蒙太奇(将全文所表现的内容分为许多不同地镜头，然后有机地组合起来，产生连贯、呼应、对比、暗示、联想等作用)如片段5

3、展示才情和文化底蕴

说明文是阐述事物的特征、本质、性能、结构、用途或科学原理的一种文体。其说明的对象可以是具体的，如：自然环境，仪表设备等；也可以是抽象的，如概念定律等。

说明文的写作相对于论说文来说，有一定的套路可循，因此不是十分复杂。说明科技方面的内容常用定义法、比较对比法、分类法、因果法等；说明自然环境方面的内容常用时间次序法、分类法等。当然，随着对象的不同，具体应该采用的方法也会有所不同。

说明文的写作应该注意的事项有下面几点：

1.语言简明扼要，通俗易懂，避免夸张华丽的辞藻，要把真实的一面展现在读者面前。

2.说明时一定要把握一个中心主题。说明文中细枝末节较多，但不能喧宾夺主。

3.说明的次序非常重要。合理的次序会使文章条理清楚，脉络明晰。因此，练习时可以尝试不同的次序进行写作，找出最合理的一种。

4.由于说明文写实性较强，有时难免会让人感到没有生气。因此，可以适当使用一些比喻、拟人等修辞手段，来增加文章的色彩。

写得好的话拿高分(前面的试题无大失误的前提下)会领先其他考生一大截分数，要是写砸了那么对这次的语文考试总分是极其不利的。下面是中考语文作文写作的八大注意事项。

1、作文题目要审清

在作文题目中，决定作文中心立意点的词语称为主题词。研读题目，找出主题词，进而挖掘主题词所蕴涵的思想、情感就显得尤为关键。

如题目“我也衔过一枚青橄榄”，作文题中的主题词是“青橄榄”，青橄榄的特点是先酸涩后甘甜，就如同我们成长过程中历经磨难方能采摘到的成功果实，推敲出这一点，文章的中心立意点恐怕也就不言而喻了。但是，审题到这里，远没有结束，我们还必须进一步探究题目中的“我”、“也”、“一枚”等词语的作用。“我”，说明文章该以第一人称写，写自己的经历，“一枚”，说明只要写一次收获。

只有将这些因素综合起来考虑，我们的审题过程才算完整，题意才有可能理解正确。

2、切入角度要新颖

要想在众多的考生作文中脱颖而出，赢得阅卷老师的青睐，作文切入角度的新颖不失为一条行之有效的途径。

如写“告别”，很多同学写告别家人、告别同学、告别朋友等，这样的文题当然可以，但写的人多了，阅卷者难免会觉得乏味，如果作文语言不是很精彩，那么你的作文就很难得到高分。

但有些考生就很聪明，他们舍弃了这些考生常用的话题，而另辟蹊径，有的写“告别青春”，“告别幼稚”等，这样新颖别致的文题就很能引起阅卷老师的注意，如果言之成理或描述得当，则很容易得高分。

3、文章点题要适当

中考作文要有更鲜明的点题意识，一般都能注意在作文的开头和结尾点题，在文章的主体部分必须有意识地点题。

按表达方式的不同，大体可分三类。

1、通过抒情点题。

2、通过描写点题。

3、通过议论点题。

考场上，由于时间紧、任务重，考生宜在文章内容流转交汇之处，不失时机地点明题旨，回扣题意，才能大大加深阅卷者对作文思路清晰、中心突出的印象。

4、卷面书写要工整

卷面脏乱不堪的作文会让阅卷者望而生厌，难得高分，而且很多考区都把卷面书写列为得分项，由此可见对卷面书写要求之高。中考作文字迹要工整，卷面要整洁，这就要求考生在平时要养成一种良好的习惯。

写作时细心些，少写或不写错别字，如遇确实要修改的地方，千万不要在错误的地方肆意涂抹，你可以用小括号把错的地方括起来再用笔在错的地方轻轻地画一条横线，这样你的卷面就不会很差了。

5、思想内容要深刻

在作文的思想内容上，不外乎“真、细、活”三个字。具体来说，“真”，就是写自己的真情实感;“细”，就是把主要的情节一定要写得细致;“活”，就是要在节骨眼上用一两句话传神。

如何做到这三点要求呢?即要学会“大中取小”、“小中见大”。

1、“大中取小”，即有一类作文题目十分宽泛，可写的材料很多，写这类题目要善于缩小，把众多材料浓缩到一点，找准切人点，还要善于化抽象为具体，加上适当的限制或设置副标题，这些都是写好大题目的好方法。

2、而“小中见大”，则是指题目小而具体要写出有深刻意义的主题，比如“今日家事”就应从一件家庭琐事反映社会变革的重大主题。

6、下笔之前要提纲

提纲要确实反映自己的思路，即在头脑中要有一个你这篇文章的大概写作思路。

写之前要考虑好三点：选用哪些材料，怎样组织材料，和怎样连贯全文。

提纲不需要细写，只需要画个层次即可。做到条理清楚、层次分明、简明扼要、突出文章每一部分的要求。至于文章细部的安排，可在写作过程中进一步落实。编写提纲没有固定格式。

7、文章标题要漂亮

”题好一半文“，标题应在作文之初就开始认真考虑，并且下工夫琢磨。

好标题的首要条件是：

1、切旨。标题要吃透材料精神，反映其主旨。

2、切体。拟题要合乎体裁。

在此基础上，标题还要炼新求美求趣。

可巧引流行歌曲，可运用拟人、比喻、反复、设问等修辞格，可套用流行语，可引用电影名、名句或成语，还可采用散文化或诗化语言。

8、开头结尾要精彩

文章的开头和结尾最忌讳出现套话、空话，作文的开头可以感情色彩适当浓一些，或者是开门见山地直接表达感情、立场，并为下文做铺垫。

有的同学在开头设置悬念，采用倒叙的写作手法，以达到引人注意的效果，这些都是可以尝试的。

：

语言和内容是评判一篇英语论文质量高低的重要依据;但是,写作格式规范与否亦是一个不可忽略的衡量标准。小编收集了英语论文的格式与写作方法，欢迎阅读。

一、英语论文的标题

一篇较长的英语论文(如英语毕业论文)一般都需要标题页,其书写格式如下:第一行标题与打印纸顶端的距离约为打印纸全长的三分之一,与下行(通常为by,居中)的距离则为5cm,第三、第四行分别为作者姓名及日期(均居中)。如果该篇英语论文是学生针对某门课程而写,则在作者姓名与日期之间还需分别打上教师学衔及其姓名(如:Dr./Prof.C.Prager)及本门课程的编号或名称(如:English 734或British Novel)。打印时,如无特殊要求,每一行均需double space,即隔行打印,行距约为0.6cm(论文其他部分行距同此)。

就学生而言,如果英语论文篇幅较短,亦可不做标题页(及提纲页),而将标题页的内容打在正文第一页的左上方。第一行为作者姓名,与打印纸顶端距离约为2.5cm,以下各行依次为教师学衔和姓、课程编号(或名称)及日期;各行左边上下对齐,并留出2.5cm左右的页边空白(下同)。接下来便是论文标题及正文(日期与标题之间及标题与正文第一行之间只需隔行打印,不必留出更多空白)。

二、英语论文提纲

英语论文提纲页包括论题句及提纲本身,其规范格式如下:先在第一行(与打印纸顶端的距离仍为2.5cm左右)的始端打上 Thesis 一词及冒号,空一格后再打论题句,回行时左边须与论题句的第一个字母上下对齐。主要纲目以大写罗马数字标出,次要纲目则依次用大写英文字母、阿拉伯数字和小写英文字母标出。各数字或字母后均为一句点,空出一格后再打该项内容的第一个字母;处于同一等级的纲目,其上下行左边必须对齐。需要注意的是,同等重要的纲目必须是两个以上,即:有Ⅰ应有Ⅱ,有A应有B,以此类推。如果英文论文提纲较长,需两页纸,则第二页须在右上角用小写罗马数字标出页码,即ii(第一页无需标页码)。

三、英语论文正文

有标题页和提纲页的英语论文,其正文第一页的规范格式为:论文标题居中,其位置距打印纸顶端约5cm,距正文第一行约1.5cm。段首字母须缩进五格,即从第六格打起。正文第一页不必标页码(但应计算其页数),自第二页起,必须在每页的右上角(即空出第一行,在其后部)打上论文作者的姓,空一格后再用阿拉伯数字标出页码;阿拉伯数字(或其最后一位)应为该行的最后一个空格。在打印正文时尚需注意标点符号的打印格式,即:句末号(句号、问号及感叹号)后应空两格,其他标点符号后则空一格。

四、英语论文的文中引述

正确引用作品原文或专家、学者的论述是写好英语论文的重要环节;既要注意引述与论文的有机统一,即其逻辑性,又要注意引述格式 (即英语论文参考文献)的规范性。引述别人的观点,可以直接引用,也可以间接引用。无论采用何种方式,论文作者必须注明所引文字的作者和出处。目前美国学术界通行的做法是在引文后以圆括弧形式注明引文作者及出处。现针对文中引述的不同情况,将部分规范格式分述如下。

1.若引文不足三行,则可将引文有机地融合在论文中。如:

The divorce of Arnolds personal desire from his inheritance results in “the familiar picture of Victorian man alone in an alien universe”(Roper9).

这里,圆括弧中的Roper为引文作者的姓(不必注出全名);阿拉伯数字为引文出处的页码(不要写成p.9);作者姓与页码之间需空一格,但不需任何标点符号;句号应置于第二个圆括弧后。

2.被引述的文字如果超过三行,则应将引文与论文文字分开,如下例所示:

Whitman has proved himself an eminent democratic representative and precursor, and his “Democratic Vistas”

is an admirable and characteristic

diatribe. And if one is sorry that in it

Whitman is unable to conceive the

extreme crises of society, one is certain

that no society would be tolerable whoses

citizens could not find refreshment in its

buoyant democratic idealism.(Chase 165)

这里的格式有两点要加以注意。一是引文各行距英语论文的左边第一个字母十个空格,即应从第十一格打起;二是引文不需加引号,末尾的句号应标在最后一个词后。

3.如需在引文中插注,对某些词语加以解释,则要使用方括号(不可用圆括弧)。如:

Dr.Beaman points out that“he [Charles Darw in] has been an important factor in the debate between evolutionary theory and biblical creationism”(9).

值得注意的是,本例中引文作者的姓已出现在引导句中,故圆括弧中只需注明引文出处的页码即可。

4.如果拟引用的文字中有与论文无关的词语需要删除,则需用省略号。如果省略号出现在引文中则用三个点,如出现在引文末,则用四个点,最后一点表示句号,置于第二个圆括弧后(一般说来,应避免在引文开头使用省略号);点与字母之间,或点与点之间都需空一格。如:

Mary Shelley hated tyranny and“looked upon the poor as pathetic victims of the social system and upon the rich and highborn...with undisguised scorn and contempt...(Nitchie 43).

5.若引文出自一部多卷书,除注明作者姓和页码外,还需注明卷号。如:

Professor Chen Jias A History of English Literature aimed to give Chinese readers“a historical survey of English literature from its earliest beginnings down to the 20thcentury”(Chen,1:i).

圆括弧里的1为卷号,小写罗马数字i为页码,说明引文出自第1卷序言(引言、序言、导言等多使用小写的罗马数字标明页码)。此外,书名 A History of English Literature 下划了线;规范的格式是:书名,包括以成书形式出版的作品名(如《失乐园》)均需划线,或用斜体字;其他作品,如诗歌、散文、短篇小说等的标题则以双引号标出,如“To Autumn”及前面出现的“Democratic Vistas”等。

6.如果英语论文中引用了同一作者的两篇或两篇以上的作品,除注明引文作者及页码外,还要注明作品名。如:

Bacon condemned Platoas“an obstacle to science”(Farrington, Philosophy 35).

Farrington points out that Aristotles father Nicomachus, a physician, probably trained his son in medicine(Aristotle 15).

这两个例子分别引用了Farrington的两部著作,故在各自的圆括弧中分别注出所引用的书名,以免混淆。两部作品名均为缩写形式(如书名太长,在圆括弧中加以注明时均需使用缩写形式),其全名分别为 Founder of Scientific Philosophy 及 The Philosophy of Francis Baconand Aristotle。

7.评析诗歌常需引用原诗句,其引用格式如下例所示。

When Beowulf dives upwards through the water and reaches the surface,“The surging waves, great tracts of water, / were all cleansed...”(1.1620-21).

这里,被引用的诗句以斜线号隔开,斜线号与前后字母及标点符号间均需空一格;圆括弧中小写的1是line的缩写;21不必写成1621。如果引用的诗句超过三行,仍需将引用的诗句与论文文字分开(参见第四项第2点内容)。

五、英语论文的文献目录

论文作者在正文之后必须提供论文中全部引文的详细出版情况,即文献目录页。美国高校一般称此页为 Works Cited, 其格式须注意下列几点:

1.目录页应与正文分开,另页打印,置于正文之后。

2.目录页应视为英语论文的一页,按论文页码的顺序在其右上角标明论文作者的姓和页码;如果条目较多,不止一页,则第一页不必标出作者姓和页码(但必须计算页数),其余各页仍按顺序标明作者姓和页码。标题Works Cited与打印纸顶端的距离约为2.5cm,与第一条目中第一行的距离仍为0.6cm;各条目之间及各行之间的距离亦为0.6cm,不必留出更多空白。

3.各条目内容顺序分别为作者姓、名、作品名、出版社名称、出版地、出版年份及起止页码等;各条目应严格按各作者姓的首字母顺序排列,但不要给各条目编码,也不必将书条与杂志、期刊等条目分列。

4.各条目第一行需顶格打印,回行时均需缩进五格,以将该条目与其他条目区分开来。

现将部分较为特殊的条目分列如下,并略加说明,供读者参考。

Two or More Books by the Same Author

Brooks, Cleanth. Fundamentals of Good Writing: A

Handbook of Modern Rhetoric. NewYork: Harcourt, 1950.

---The Hidden God: Studies in Hemingway, Faulkner, Yeats,

Eliot, and Warren. New Haven: Yale UP,1963.

引用同一作者的多部著作,只需在第一条目中注明该作者姓名,余下各条目则以三条连字符及一句点代替该作者姓名;各条目须按书名的第一个词(冠词除外)的字母顺序排列。

An Author with an Editor

Shake speare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Ed. Louis B.

Wright. New York: Washington Square, 1959.

本条目将作者 Shakespeare 的姓名排在前面,而将编者姓名(不颠倒)放在后面,表明引文出自 The Tragedy of Macbeth;如果引文出自编者写的序言、导言等,则需将编者姓名置前,如:

Blackmur, Richard P.Introduction. The Art of the Novel:

Critical Prefaces. By Henry James. New York: Scribners,

1962.vii-xxxix.

如果引言与著作为同一人所写,则其格式如下例所示(By后只需注明作者姓即可):

Emery, Donald. Preface. English Fundamentals. By Emery.

London: Macmillan, 1972.v-vi.

A Multivolume Work

Browne, Thomas. The Works of Sir Thomas Browne. Ed.

Geoffrey Keynes. 4 vols. London: Faber, 1928.

Browne, Thomas. The Works of Sir Thomas Browne. Ed.

Geoffrey Keynes. Vol.2. London: Faber, 1928. 4 vols.

第一条目表明该著作共4卷,而论文作者使用了各卷内容;第二条目则表明论文作者只使用了第2卷中的内容。

A Selection from an Anthology

Abram, M. H.“English Romanticism: The Spirit of the Age.”

Romanticism Reconsidered. Ed. Northrop Frye. New

York: Columbia UP,1963.63-88.

被引用的英语论文名须用引号标出,并注意将英语论文名后的句点置于引号内。条目末尾必须注明该文在选集中的起止页码。

Articles in Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers

Otto, Mary L.“Child Abuse: Group Treatment for Parents.”

Personnel and Guidance Journal 62(1984): 336-48.

报刊杂志名需划线,但其后不需任何标点符号。62为卷号或期号,如既有卷号,又有期号,则要将二者以句号分开。如:(3.3);1984为出版年份,应置于圆括弧中。

Arnold, Marilgn.“Willa Cathers Nostalgia: A Study in

Ambivalance.”Research Studies Mar.1981:23-24,28.

月刊或双月刊须同时注明出版年月;23-24,28表示该文的前一部分刊于第23和24两页,后一部分则转至第28页。

Gorney, Cynthia.“When the Gorilla Speaks.”Washington Post

31 July,1985:B1.

引用日报上的英语论文必须同时注明报纸出版的年、月、日。B1为该文在报纸中的版面及页码。参考文献(略)

There is no consensus [knsenss] 一致of opinions among people about X(争论的焦点)。Some people are of the view that 观点1，while others take an opposite side, firmly believing that 观点2。As far as I am concerned, the former/latter notion(观念) is preferable in many senses. The reasons are obvious. First of all, 论据1。 Furthermore, 论据2。

Among all of the supporting evidences, one is the strongest. That is, 论据3。 A natural conclusion from the above discussion is that总结观点。 As a college student, I am supposed to 表决心. 或 From above, we can predict that 预测

一、积累词汇

初中学生在阅读理解方面最大的障碍就是词汇量的缺乏，而扩大词汇量绝非死记硬背就能做到。最有效的方法就是大量接触各种不同体裁的英语文章，利用“在句中记，在文中记”的方法来积累词汇。因此我们指导学生依据英语报刊的特点，按栏目、话题、题材、体裁归类收集常用词，将出现频率较高的常用词汇积累到单词本子上，查字典写例句，初步学会这些单词的运用，放在身边，利用零散时间反复记忆，加强印象。还要求学生给出与单词有关的同义、近义、反义和词形相似的词，使词汇量得到最大限度的复现。如：反义词appear/disappear， crowded/uncrowded，polite/impolite/rude.词形相似的词except/expect，chance/change/challenge.这样，通过大量的词汇练习不仅仅能有效地积累词汇，还为组句打下了基础，同时还能训练学生的发散性思维和总结、归纳、比较的能力，为学生正确使用词句奠定了良好的基础。

二、活用词句

当学生有了一定的词汇量的时候，教师在教学中可以采用先易后难的方法，让学生用简单的词组成句子，再以句子的构成作为学生进行写作训练的起点，引导学生从对单个句型的掌握，逐渐过渡到多种句型的混用，直到学生能连贯自如地表达思想。一句多译，句型转换，是书面表达能力的关键。总的来说，教师在平时的教学中要将日常生活中经常出现的词、句作为材料让学生训练，使学生乐于接受，轻松完成，享受成功感。

例如：以study为中心组成句子。

I study in No.3 Middle School.I study very hard.My sister studies in the same school.But she studies harder than me.等等。

三、创设情景

例如，学生举行运动会，开“生日聚会”，以“A sports meeting”和“My birthday party”为语境，让学生在活动中仔细观察，亲身体验，然后试着用自己所学的语言知识，表达“A sports meeting”和“My birthday party”这些话题。在我们新教材的每个单元中，都设有写作训练题，它们用英语设置语境，用英语提示内容，这些写的练习，与我们平时用汉语给语境、用英语完成段落的方式相比，更为理想。当然，教师在设立语境话题时要与学生的水平和能力相适应，应从简到难，从浅到深进行。否则，学生会无从下笔，久而久之，他们会失去信心。

四、注重听、说和阅读的培养

在英语写作中听、说、读、写应同步发展。写作是一种语言输出形式，只有语言输入大于语言输出，语言输出才有可能。英语写作训练作为英语综合能力训练之一，是与英语的听说读不可分割的，它们是相互影响、相互作用的有机统一体，必须注重听、说、读、写能力的同步发展。

比如笔者实施多年的“五分钟课前演讲”：在上正课前五分钟里，要学生用英语讲述一个故事(积累素材);或者课前朗读一篇短小精 的文章，让大家课后模仿;或者就大家平时关心的话题写一个发言稿或演讲稿进行课前发言;或者让学生自立主题，围绕自己喜欢的主题写一段话。这种课前训练取得了很好的效果。

五、写英文日记

要养成记英语日记勤练笔的习惯。经常用英语记日记等于天天在练笔，这无疑是提高英语写作行之有效的好办法。在记日记时，不要总是用简单句，要有意识地用一些好的词组、句型和复合句等，使文句更优美生动。对一些所给情景写的文章，写好后要对照一些范文，找出差距，然后再去练习，不仅能促使学生及时巩固所学的知识，还能锻炼他们的恒心和学习毅力，同时对提高英语作文也是很有帮助的。只有这样，学生才能通过多练习提高英语写作水平。

总之，学生英语写作水平的提高不是一朝一夕的事，英语写作能力培养的训练方法也是多方面的，因此需要我们英语教师在教学工作中不断探索、不断研究，总结出一些更富有创新活力的英语写作方法。鼓励学生平时要多积累语素材，要求他们坚持长期写作训练，做到善于思考、勤于训练、勇于探究，充分发挥学生的潜力。久而久之，学生的写作水平就会有大幅度的提高。

历年来，在高考中都会出现一些满分作文，如何写出满分作文是同学们关注的焦点，小编收集了满分作文的写作技巧，欢迎阅读。

1、充分发挥自己的优势。认识水平高、擅长理性思维的同学可选择议论文，擅长形象思维、会刻画人物的同学可选择微型小说，擅长抒情的同学可选择散文。

2、精写前几段，给评卷老师留下一个好印象。要精雕细刻，要出彩。比如，可开门见山，直奔主题;可制造悬念，引人入胜;可提出问题，引人注意;或巧用排比、比喻、拟人等修辞手法，或巧述故事，引人入胜，或巧用题记，揭示主旨，或巧用诗文显诗意。写好结尾和过渡段。阅卷老师一般是S型的扫描全文。结尾可画龙点睛，发人深思;或总结全文，照应开头;或虚笔拓展，扩大容量;或精辟议论，深化主旨。

3、要给自己充足的构思时间，不要急于动笔。“宁停三分，不争一秒”，因为写作是“开弓没有回头箭”的，写到一半，突然发现，呀，把题目理解错了，或没领会好命题的要求。最可怕的是文章写到一半，又想另起炉灶。时间没了，心情也坏了，干着急。建议打草稿，防止“三边工程”(边立项，边设计，边施工)。考场作文不宜见异思迁，边写边改。要贯彻一种构思。一旦构思已定，就不要轻易改变。

4、要力避前松后紧、虎头蛇尾。有些同学构思、提纲拟好后，开头反复推敲，精雕细琢，后来发现时间不够，于是草草收兵。此外，要谨慎对待修改。今年实行网上评卷，更应慎重。修改一般只着眼于字词方面的，可用米尺比好之后划两横。结构方面不能修改。要保持卷面的整洁美观，要努力做到改动少而效果好。

5、如果偏题或者离题，作文的主要分数就失去了。为防止跑题，可从如下几点做出努力：一是将材料、引语和话题联系起来思考，不可单看话题;二是看自己确立的观点能否用话题所给材料来证明;三是想一想这则材料当初发在媒体上登载是要达到一个什么效果的。万一跑题了，要考虑逆挽，使文章形成一种欲扬先抑的结构形态。

6、一定要完篇。熟话说，好文章是风头、猪肚、豹尾。没有豹尾，老鼠尾巴也要有一个，绝不能写半头文。用半篇文章给你评分，怎么会得高分?

7、要重视拟题，特别要注意不能缺题。不是万不得已，不要以话题做标题。张伟民讲那是一种浪费。拟题是显示你才气的一个好的平台，不能轻易放弃。缺题影响远不止2分。正好给了评卷老师扣分的理由。

8、文章要有一至两个亮点。如果是记叙文，应该用抓人的情节和生动的描写表现你的真情，记叙文不能没有描写。如果是议论文，就一定要有1--2个典型的论据，就应该有纵横捭阖，很深刻的见解。如果是微型小说一定要有巧妙的构思。这个亮点还可以是一句富有哲理的警句，也可以是一个精彩的比喻，也可以是一个超常的搭配(酽酽的歌喉)。总之，要能使评卷老师精神为之一震。

9、行文中要多次扣题，要一路扣题一路歌。材料、引语和话题中的相关文字至少在文中出现三次以上。开头三句话内应点题一次，结尾应回扣标题，“回眸一笑百媚生”。中间至少扣题一次。几次扣题事实上也是在不断地提醒自己不要跑题。有球场上叫暂停的效果，可以调整思路和写法。

10、思想要健康。“思想健康”不是说要你只说冠冕堂皇的话，不是要你刻意拔高，“健康”是针对“病态”、“庸俗”而言的，它的底线是不能欣赏违背法律法规和偏离社会道德的事。恋爱题材是考场作文的禁区，无论考生写得如何缠绵悱恻，真挚动人，因其行为是中学生日常行为规范所不允许的，这类作文自然得不了高分。

11、观点不可太绝对，要留有余地。“义正”未必要“辞严”，“理直”未必就要“气壮”。联系现实生活时，涉及社会黑暗面时，要有分寸，不要一味指责。“质问京山大冤案”。批评家长、老师和社会要与人为善，抱着协商与治病救人的态度，要提建设性意见。不可尖刻、讽刺、挖苦，甚至恶意地进行人身攻击。

12、临场写作时可以根据题意和你的表达需要想像一个或一类读者就在你的面前。如以“沟通”为话题作文，写与家长的沟通，可想像父母就在身边;写“沟通”之艰难和必要，就好像误解过你的人正在听你倾诉;写国际间通过沟通走向合作，就设想自己参与了国与国的谈判。即使所写文章没有明确的阅读对象，你也可以想像此文是写给你的语文老师的。你要知道，你的文章的惟一读者是那位跟你的语文老师非常相似的人。写记叙文，且最好将主人公设定为自己。想想阅卷老师的喜好，说他们想听的话。尽可能赢得评卷老师的同情。

13、写法上可以求新。要考虑，怎样表现更智慧，更艺术，更有可读性;但更要求稳。我的意见是大家一定要在一种比较稳的情况下，确有把握时才可写小小说或者是写戏剧，或者是写别的，确有把握之后才写这种文体，如果没有把握的话，就选择比较稳妥的老的文体，老的写法。

14、不可按上年或前几年的高考作文思路行文。求新、求变是人们所追求的，高考作文也不例外。但若按上年或前几年的高考作文思路行文，甚至拿来套用，机械模仿，不懂灵活应变，就会吃力不讨好，这也是失分的点。因为阅卷者大都是相对固定的，对以前的高考作文非常熟悉。不主张写诗歌、文言文。

15、苦于材料缺乏则可以突出自己的爱好。你如果喜欢体育，那你就像体育记者一样，叙体育、议体育，只要切合题意就好。你如果喜欢听××的歌、看××的书、爱好上网……你就可以将自己这一方面的经历和感受与命题联系起来。那样就不愁内容贫乏、文思枯竭。不要瞎编乱造。靠编故事骗取老师的眼泪从而获得高分的时代已经一去不复返了。

16、要美化自己，而不是丑化自己。要显现自己的高境界、大抱负、多知识、同情心，要显现自己以天下为己任的豪情。不要出于反衬别人等考虑而故意丑化自己，如果让评卷老师以为你真就是那样，那就麻烦了，因为高考是选拔性考试。从某个角度讲，评卷老师评卷的过程就是一个选择淘汰对象的过程。

17、字数以900字左右为宜。不能给人凑字数的感觉，但也不能拖得太长，不允许加纸条。许欢写长文的同学，开篇要注意不要放得太开，开口不要太大，能跳过去的就跳过去，要相信读者的理解能力。要注意节省篇幅，要防止高潮来了没地方写了。切忌三段文。要突出的句子(扣题的、表现主旨的、文眼、点睛之笔、抒情议论、议论文的分论点等)最好单独成段。

18、看到题目后，可先搜索一下自己以往所写的优秀作文，看有没有可以再利用的。需要注意的是一定要不牵强。

英语作文如何才能得高分呢?以下几种手段是增加句子复杂性的常见方法,也是得高分的“亮点”。

1. 改变句子的开头方式,不是一味地都是主语开头,接着是谓语、宾语,最后再加一个状语。可以把状语置于句首,或用分词作状语等。试比较:

(原文) My brother and I went to the cinema by bicycle the other day.

(修正) The other day my brother and I went to the cinema by bicycle.

(原文) The young man couldn’t help crying when he heard the bad news.

(修正) Hearing the bad news, the young man couldn’t help crying.

2. 在整篇文章中,避免只使用一两个句式,要灵活运用诸如强调句、主从复合句、分词短语、倒装句、省略句等。例如:

(1)强调句

(原文) The dog has saved my little sister bravely.

(修正) It is the dog that has saved my little sister bravely.

(2)主从复合句

(原文) We had to stand there to catch the offender.

(修正) What we had to do was to stand there, trying to catch the offender.

(3)分词短语、由with或without引导的短语

(原文) The driver escaped and didn’t stop, he left the old man lying on the road.

(修正) The driver escaped without stopping, leaving the old man lying on the road.

(4)倒装句

(原文) I went to bed at 11:30.

(修正) Not until 11:30 did I go to bed.

(5)省略句

(原文) While you are crossing the street, you should be careful.

(修正) While crossing the street, you should be careful.

3. 通过分句和合句,增强句子的连贯性和表现力。例如:

(原文) He stopped us an hour ago. He made us catch the next offender.

(修正) He stopped us half an hour ago and made us catch the next offender.

(原文) We had a short rest. Then we began to play happily. We sang and danced.

(修正) After a short rest, we had great fun singing and dancing.

4. 注意连接词与句子的运用。

以2001年高考作文为例,在信的开头,可加上“You want to know something about what is going on in schools in China?”这句话起承上启下的作用,使文章过渡自然;再如,用“What was worse?”引出减负前,晚上还要做作业,就寝时间11:30等要点。又如,“Now I have more free time...” 可引出减负后的情况。另外,在信的结尾,可用“How about you? I’m looking forward to hearing from you.”来自然地结束这封信。

5. 使用过渡词语。

写好了每个句子,并不一定就是一篇好文章,因为作为一篇文章,还必须行文连贯。那么,如何使文章行文连贯呢?这就要求我们在组成篇章时,要用好过渡性词语,过渡性词语就像是我们组装机械时使用的润滑剂一样,起着润滑的作用。常用的过渡词语主要有:

并列递进:and, also, as well as, besides, what’s more, furthermore, moreover, etc.

转折:but, yet, however, although, nevertheless, in spite of, after all, etc.

因果:because, as, for, since, for this reason, because of, so, therefore, thus, as a result, etc.

对比:or, otherwise, like, unlike, on the contrary, while, on the other hand, instead of, etc.

总结:in all, in brief, on the whole, in short, in general, in one word, etc.

总之,要使文章的层次高,可读性强,考生应增加些较高级的词汇与复杂的结构,并运用恰当的连接词和复合句,只有这样,才能在考试中取得理想的成绩。

积累一些英语格言，对英文写作有一定的帮助。以下是小编带来的小学生经典英语格言，希望对你有帮助。

A cat may look at a king. 猫也可以看国王。

A friend in need is a friend in indeed. 患难识知已。

A good marksman may miss. 智者千虑，必有一失。

A good maxim is never out of season. 至理名言不会过时。

A good medicine tastes bitter. 良药苦口，忠言逆耳。

A good winter brings a good summer. 瑞雪兆丰年。

All roads lead to Rome. 条条道路通罗马。

Better early than late. 宁早勿晚。

Better late than never. 迟做总比不做好。

Great minds think alike.英雄所见略同。

It is good to learn at another man’s cost.前车可鉴。

It is never too late to learn. 活到老，学到老。

Love me, love my dog.爱屋及乌。

Men learn while they reach. 教学相长。

Second thoughts are best. 三思而后行 。

散文是一种作者写自己经历见闻中的真情实感的灵活、精干的文学体裁。作者在散文中的形象比较明显，常用第一人称叙述，个性鲜明。

同时，这也就需要大胆无忌。正如鲁迅所说“任意而谈，无所顾忌”，他还推崇曹操及魏晋散文的“力主通脱”。也如刘半农所说，散文要“赤裸裸地表达”，写真实的“我”是散文的核心特征和生命所在，这是定义的最大要素。

散文语言十分重要。首要的一条是以口语为基础，而文语(包括古语和欧化语)为点缀。其次是要清新自然，优美洗练。此外，还可以讲究一些语言技法，如句式长短相间，随物赋形，如多用修辞特别是比喻，如讲音调、节奏、旋律的音乐美等。

首先，必须明确一个散文写作观念，即散文的唯一内容和对象是作者的感情体验。所有的教材都提出了散文要写感情，但却是作为一种必备因素和一种内在线索。应当强调指出，感情不是片面的因素，也不仅仅是线索，而是散文的对象。散文写人、写事都只是表面现象，从根本上说写的是感情体验。感情体验就是“不散的神”，而人与事则是“散”的可有可无、可多可少的“形”。朱自清的《背影》不是要记录回家和父子离别的琐事，而是要吐露一种对父亲及失败了的父辈的怜惜和敬爱。刘真的《望截流》，重点不是顺理成章的工程本身或建设者的业绩，而是一种回归历史进步主流的内心感受。感情体验，是散文的内在结构，有了它，就可以天马行空地起草。这一点，不能不明朗和确定。

有了散文的内在结构——感情体验，只要再明确外在结构的核心就可以写好散文。外在结构的核心是细节。散文和小说一样，建立在细节的描写和叙述的基础上，但细节的排列组合方式不同。可以说，小说组合细节是“以盘盛珠”，而散文则是“以线穿珠”。小说的“盘”是一个社会的横切面，具备冲突，各种阶层、力量的人物或隐或显，而细节只能在这样的“盘”中有机地展开。散文的“线”，就是感情体验，或多或少，随手拈来，任情挥洒——以感情体验的表现为准。由此，我们说散文(应称艺术散文)，是最自由的文体，散漫如水，手法灵活。

只要弄清这些，写真实自我及由此生发的个性口语、感情体验和细节描写，就掌握了散文写作的要领，什么章法(如文眼)、意境等等一般化认识都不必过于拘谨地学习，其他文体理论知识和写作基础理论都会讲到。

散文主要分为记叙散文和抒情散文(仍按传统的不明确的说法)两种。下面将两种散文的模式列出，供初学者和高等教育应试者选择使用。

叙事作文又称记事作文，在作文类别里因为贴近生活实际，而被是认为是较简单的一种作文体裁，小编收集了叙事作文的写作方法，欢迎阅读。

叙事作文又称记事作文，在作文类别里因为贴近生活实际，而被是认为是较简单的一种作文体裁，对于小学生来讲，叙事作文往往又与另一个词联系较紧密---“流水帐”，叙事作文写作技巧。作为教师，我常在学生习作中发现“流水帐”这类文章，统观原因就是因为学生在写这类文章时，过于偏向“叙”、“记”，光叙事情的顺序，记录每一个细节，而忽视了叙事作文中的“思”、“情”、“议”，这些文章的枝叶，光剩下一副骨架，自然文章也就成了干枯的秃树，吸引不了人了。

叙事作文来源于生活，但又高于生活，生活只记录了事情的发生、发展、结果，是一本“帐”。陆游说：“尔果欲学诗，功夫在诗外”。这诗外的功夫即是对生活的体验，感受和认识，也就是“思”、“议”、“情”，将你们思考到的，你的观点说出来，你对这件事的感情色彩，表达在你的文章中，这样，文章才会丰满，再大的树干也需要枝叶的铺盖，才会生机盎然。

叶圣陶先生说：“生活如泉源，文章如溪水，泉源丰富而不枯竭，溪水自然活泼地流个不竭”，对学生来讲，生活的经历不算是丰富，固定的生活模式容易让学生产生公式化的记忆，叙起事来自然也就成了“流水帐”。但孩子的生活细节是丰富的，他们在日常生活中，对事物有着不同于成人的观察范围、观察视角、观察兴趣，如果将这些详细的叙述出来，作文自然也就丰富了。

作为教师，帮助学生深挖叙事过程中的“思”、“议”、“情”等方面的内容，可以起到画龙点睛的作用。

一、思

思，就是想。这对于人来讲，是正常人的反应。看见、听见、大脑自然的就会有所想，这种想是即时的、迅速的、“条件反射式”的，但是孩子往往会忽视这种非主观的思维，甚至在看见、听见，亲身参与时，会不由自主地就某一细节现象脱口而出一些评论，这都是一种思考，捕捉到了，意识到了就会成为一种很好的素材，输入作文，就会使文章活起来。

例如一位同学写自已的作文老师，老师在上课开始便说：“我花了一元钱买了两只老母鸡，你们说我高兴吗?”我想，“原来老师也爱吹牛啊!”看，这就是“思”。针对老师的话，小作者立刻在脑海中产生了反应，这是一种本能，小作者非常善于捕捉，短短的一句话，便让文章生动起来。小作者孩子式的大实话衬托出了这位作文老师的幽默，也让人看到了老师与学生间的浓浓师生关系，所以作为老师，我们要培养这种捕捉能力，在教学中我总结了几种方法：

(1)、挖重点，突出关健

这一方法主要是针对学生自已而言，事情不外乎人和事两大因素，事源于人，因人而成事。

如果自已亲身参与其中，感想也一定颇多，想的一定也多。反过来，再下笔的，先将事件分出重点，针对重点事所产生的最能代表自已的想法的写出来，达到虽想的多但下笔时能将精华挖出来，针对事情的重点、有的放矢的将所想的表达出来，起到以点带面、万花丛中一点红、喧宾而不夺主的修饰作用。

例如：一位同学写自已的好朋友参加比赛，“只见他左手拨弦，右手拉弦，脚不停地在地上打着弹子，显得那么投入，大家都在认真地吆呵着。我的心也跟着琴声飞起来了”。最后一句其实便是小作者的所想，在介绍好朋友比赛的几个环节：上场、弹奏、下场，这几个环节中，弹奏是重点，作者叙述详细，末尾以一句自已所思，将好朋友的琴声之美加以烘托，起到了绿叶的作用，这就是重点部分有所思起到的好处。

所以在叙事过程中，如有自已参与要教会学生分清重点的展示自已的所思。

(2)、角色互换，换位思考

对于没有自已参加的事情，学生往往难以写出所思，这也是实情，有自已参与，想的多;别人参与的事，很难了解别人的想法，这对学生来讲是一个难点，这时就需要换位思考，在看图作文，想像作文中常有这种情况，故事编了，但总让人感觉是在“记录”别人干的事，难有“第一人称”的感觉。这时就要角色互换，想什么?入情才能入境，想法不同，“我”成了“他人”想法才会贴近、合理。

(3)、删繁就简，突出重点

文章来源于生活，但高于生活，文章是语言文字凝炼而成，文章中从头到尾充斥着所“思”，有喧宾夺主的感觉，叙事作文写作技巧。所以删繁就简是重要的标准，删谁留谁，要看谁能为文章重点服务。

叙事作文重点在叙，事有起伏，“思”为“起”处增彩，这样才有烘托之效，思不宜过多，点到为止，我在教学时告诉学生，先找出事情的几个重点叙述部分，用精炼的语言传达你的所思，目标就是烘托主题。

二、议

一人叫说，两人以上就问题发表观点就叫议，作文教学中，常有学生作文语里充满了你说他说，周而复始，直至文章结尾。平时说话可以这样，但作文是语言的精华，简单实用才能吸引读者。所以，我在教学中就“议”注意把握以下几点：

(1)无问不议

没有问题不议，不能将作文变成“说书场”，芝麻、西瓜一起捡，针对问题展开议论，叙为主议为辅。

作为学生，难在什么是问题?问题就是叙事过程中影响事件走向或能引导事情发展的问题，这些问题往往会伴随事情发展而出现，不议不行了，这时就需要议，议的好，文章会生动。

例如：我在评讲作文时，一位同学写班会课，几位班干为了制定晚会节目而发生了争执，这就产生了问题，如果以一笔带过，直接写结果，最后，“节目单终于定下来了”，文章平淡无奇。但反过来将班干们讨论的话写下来，文章则凭添了趣味，我将两段作文都读了，同学们纷纷以为有“议”的作文听着更吸引人，可见，叙事作文有了议才能更好地表达思想。

(2)议少不易多

多议不如少议，作文最忌面面俱到，议不是说，议是看法，观点的表达，以简炼的语言陈述观点，是最好的。我指导学生，议时也就是陈述观点时，越少越好。但要表达清楚，大家都说不如少数说，少数说不如重点说。教会学生在众多的话语中，找出最具有代表性的话，使人一看就懂，充分发挥议的代表作用。

三、情

作文的一大作用就是寄托作者的情感，而小学生作文往往缺乏这一点，尤其叙事作文讲完完了，叙完了作文也完了。情的内涵很多：友情、亲情、感激之情、感谢之情、感动之情??????，在叙事作文中，不同的事情生出不同的情感，它是文章的升华，有它文章则有了灵感，否则文章就是一个“记帐本”。尽管“惰”有不同，但在教学时要注意把握。

(1)、情动于心

情是纯洁、纯真的，虚情假意往往一眼可以看穿，像常在作文中出现的“我好喜欢他的做法啊!”、“他真伟大啊!”、“他真了不起啊!”等等，既起不了升华文章的作用，反而贬低了文章。

我告诉学生，情与心相连，当你真真心动时，那就是情，情藏于事而发于事，事情发展了，你会有不同的感情流露写出来，这就是你的文章之情。写文章最忌乱发感情，满篇文章充斥着感叹句，反而提高不了读者的兴趣，还会让人感觉文章虚情假意，教会学生捕捉心动的感觉，哪怕是一句很朴实的话，也能将文章的情感表达出来。

例如有同学在描写自已的老师，在寒冷的办公室里一边搓着双手，一边批改作业时，写道：“我想哭。”简单的一句话，没有华丽的词语，没有感叹词，但却将对老师的感情表露无遗，小作者捕促到了心灵感动的一瞬间，语虽短，但效果很好。

所以教会学生写出真情重要，学会体验真情则更加重要。

(2)、情牵全文

所谓情牵全文就是在叙事时要有自已的感情，溶于文章全文。许多学生习惯于叙完事，最后发一句感慨，作为全文的总结和文章情感表现的见证，而忽视了在文章中情感的渗透。

那么如何做到情牵全文呢?就是要将文章细化的描写，精雕细刻，而不是草草的了事。

例如：“听到这个振奋人心的消息，梦梦激动的哭了，几年来坚持苦练的结果，多年的汗水没有白白流;终于为学校争了光”。这段话中，通过细致的动作描写，真实的心里话描写，将小同学获奖后的激动的心情表达了出来，真实的情感贯穿全句。反之，写“梦梦得奖了，高兴的哭了”。则没有了这效果。

通过细致的描写人物动作、心理、语言，再加以真实的感受，那么不需要空喊口号，情感一样会渗透全文。

“思”、“议”、“情”三个方面，各有各的内容，既独立发挥作用又有千丝万缕的联系。

有思考才会有议论有观点，“议”是“思”的结果;情感来源于对事物的认识，“议”是“情”的表达;所以，将“思”、“议”、“情”三个方面揉合在一起，以真实的想法，突出的议论，实实在在的情感，于叙事过程中，才能达到树大根深，枝叶繁茂的效果。

对于作文来说，写好作文开头尤为重要。因为老师阅读时首先看的便是第一段，小编收集了记叙文开头写作技巧，欢迎阅读。

俗话说：“万事开头难。”对于作文来说，写好作文开头尤为重要。因为老师阅读时首先看的便是第一段，所以写作文时一定要写好第一段，紧紧抓住老师的目光，让老师不由自主地随着你的思路走。有人用“凤头猪肚豹尾”一句来形容一篇好文章，那如何才能绘好这个“凤头”呢?

一、教你几招，学一学：

1、开门见山，直接入题。

叙事为主的记叙文，一开始就可以点明事情发生的时间、地点和有关背景;写人为主的记叙文可直接交代人物或通过对人物肖像、对话、行动等方面的描写，直接入题。例如：

(1)唐老师病了。快放晚学时，同学们都难过地坐在自己的座位上。教室里如同死水一般寂静。(《真情》)

(2)她叫王芳，我读五年级时的班长。尽管我俩分别一年多了，但班长的轶事依然历历在目，难以忘怀。(《有这样一位好班长》)

(3)父亲抡起锄头，画了个满圈，“嘭“，一个土块碎了。“爸，我回来帮你吧!”憋在心里的话终于吐了出来。漂亮的弧只画了一半，锄头遵循着牛顿第二运动定律，飞向前了。(《父亲的爱》)

(4)那天，鲜花店门口贴了一张大红告示：母亲节预定鲜花。哦!母亲节快到了，我该为母亲准备节日礼物了。(《母亲节的礼物》)

2、写景状物，渲染气氛。

文章的开头从写景状物入手，展示人物活动的环境或交代故事发生的背景，渲染气氛，以此烘托人物，展开故事。如：

(1)花开的季节，到处芬芳飘香，而我却无心观赏，因为此时我失去了同窗好友——强。(《同窗好友》)

(2)太阳落山了，昏黄的光晕渲染了半边天，我寂寞地趴在阳台上。窗外那棵老杨树上，不知名的大鸟仍在不知疲倦地喂食它的小宝贝。它那绿豆般的眼睛温柔而慈爱地注视着意欲飞出温巢的小鸟。这画面，这眼神，让我想起了母亲……(《面对母亲的目光》)

(3)教室外，呼啸着的北风挟着密集的雨点扑打在墙上，“嚓、嚓”地响。教室里，一场全能竞赛考试进行到了白热化的阶段。(《心中筑起一堵墙》)

3、抒情议论，确定基调。

用几句恰当的议论抒情做文章的开头，或感染读者，或点明主旨，领起下文。如：

(1)伴着年关噼里啪啦的鞭炮声，踩着原野初融的残雪，你姗姗走来，明眸含情。你用爱的温馨，使我腊黄的脸庞泛起红晕;你用爱的吟唱，唤醒我迷茫的信念。我，不再忧郁、沉闷、彷徨，也不再坐等、观望、祈祷，我要振作，寻觅、追回你以及你给我曾经编制过的那个七彩的梦幻!(《情寄春风》)

(2)生日是一根线，一头是我，一头是外婆;生日是一个圈，圈住外婆的笑，圈住我的记忆;生日是一条河，那匆匆的流水，把我的思念带到外婆身边。(《生日寄语》)

(3)爷爷是我最爱的亲人。我的童年是在爷爷那边度过的。是爷爷拉着我的手，教会我走路;是爷爷使我从小就懂得不少道理。我把爷爷看成自己幼年成长的拐杖。(《我爱爷爷》)

4、设置悬念，引出下文。

用悬念开头，能一下子抓住读者的心，激发人们的兴趣和思考，起到引人入胜的效果。如：

(1)是为了摆脱那饥寒交迫的日子，你才无可奈何地跳下悬崖?是为了免遭那被俘的耻辱，你才义无返顾地投落这峭壁?(《峭壁上的树》)

(2)朋友，你听说过鳄鱼是怎样哭泣的吗?你听说过猩猩吃人的故事吗?你知道外星人是怎么来到地球的吗?……哦，你摇头了。可别急，全是它——《世界奇闻怪事》告诉我的，它使我体会到了课外阅读的乐趣。(《课外阅读的乐趣》)

(3)我快要死了——

我躺在病床上，四周黑漆漆的一片，十分寂静，偌大的房间里，只能听得见我微弱的呼吸声。护士只有到吃药、打针的时候才会进来，而且很少和我说话。我已经习惯了，我不会有太多的抱怨，因为我知道我快要死了。我凝视着窗外，告诉自己要坦然面对死亡。(《感受生活之美》)

5、引用诗文或歌词，突现中心。

以诗文妙语、名言警句或歌词开头，既能激发读者兴趣，也能提高文章的品位。同时，也能揭示文章主要内容，突现人物、事件。如：

(1)“慈母手中线，游子身上衣。临行密密缝，意恐迟迟归……”读着这首脍炙人口的小诗，我的思绪不禁飘散开来，飘向那远在大山脚下守着几亩地辛勤劳作的母亲。(《母亲，你是我一生的感动》)

(2)“请把我的歌，带回你的家，请把你的微笑留下……”每当耳边响起熟悉的旋律，自己就好像遇见了多年不见的老朋友一样，感觉格外亲切。(《歌声与微笑》)

(3)“母亲啊，你是荷叶，我是红莲。心中的雨点来了，除了你，谁是我无遮无拦天空的荫蔽?”每当读到冰心女士讴歌母亲的这段话，我便不由自主地想起我那矮小瘦弱却独自一人挑负全家生活重担的慈母。(《母爱无边》)

6、对比映衬，烘云托月

这种开头通过对比或铺陈，能使要表现的内容在其他事物的烘托下显得更加突出、醒目，从而给人十分鲜明和深刻的印象。如：

(1)窗外阳光明媚，几只小鸟在树上欢快地叫着，但我却无论如何也打不起精神来，因为爸爸妈妈分居了，而且正在闹离婚，这对我是个莫大的打击。我要尽最大的努力使爸妈和好，因为我想有个完美的家。(《我想有个完美的家》)

(2)当你看到平坦的大地上傲然挺立的一排排生机勃勃的绿树，你也许回情不自禁地赞叹大自然那非凡的创造力。绿树是美好的，枯树也有其可爱之处，虽然它青春已逝，生命衰朽。(《枯树》)

(3)李商隐有诗曰：“夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏”，我惊讶于他的洞察力，然而，夕阳下互相搀扶的老夫老妻却是天底下最美的风景。(《最美丽的风景》)

总结：好的作文开头应做到：一简、二新，三美。“简”就是开头力求简洁、明了，不啰嗦重复。“新”就是开头不落俗套，新颖别致。“美”就是开头能给人以美感，如用生动形象的描写，或借助修辞，或引用诗文。

写作要不要学习写作方法和技巧?我们不妨先看看古今大家的观点。梁代文艺理论家刘勰认为写作是有"术"的，他说:"文场笔苑，有术有门。务先大体，鉴必穷源。"(《文心雕龙·总述》)他还说:"执术驭篇，似善弈之穷数;弃术任心，如博塞之邀遇。"由此看来，刘勰是非常看重"执术"。他所谓"术"，就是为文之"法"，强调了研究掌握"术"(写作方法)的重要性。没有写作技法想获得成功，就像赌博一样，只能靠运气。

写作方法和技巧

1.阅读优秀的作品:这是显而易见的，但立竿见影的方法。

如果你不读更多的好作品，你就不知道如何写出更好的作品。

优秀的作家都是从阅读别人的佳作开始，接着开始模仿，最后超越他们，形成自己的风格。

尽可能的多读名著，在看内容的时候，更要留意文章的问题和写作的技巧。

2.尽可能多的写:每天都写，如果可能话，每天写几次。

你写得多了，也就写得好了。

学习如何写作和其他的学问道理是一样的，熟能生巧。

写写你自己，写写博客，向出版社投稿。

只是写，全情投入的写，练得越多，你的写作水平就提升得越快。

3.随时随地记下你的灵感:随身带一本小笔记本(纳博科夫身上装满了小卡片)，当你对你构思的小说，文章，或是小说里的人物有什么灵感的时候，马上记下来。

当你听别人谈话时的只言片语而所有顿悟时，或看到一段散文诗或是一句歌词让你很感动时，都可以马上当他们记下来。

灵感总是转瞬即逝，你及时的记录下来，便可以成为你写作的素材。

我的习惯是，为我的博客要写的文章列一个清单，不断的补充它。

4.专门的写作时间:每天找一个没有任何打扰的时间段作为专门的写作时间，让这成为习惯。

对我而言，清晨的时间是最佳的，午饭，傍晚，或者深夜的那段时间也可以。

无论你是做什么工作的，把写作当作每天必须完成的任务去做。

每天至少写半个小时，当然有一个小时更好。

若你同我一样，是一个全职的作家，那么你需要写更多的小时，请你不要担心，这只会让你写得更好。

5.随便涂鸦:面对整张的白纸，整版的白屏，无从开始，肯定恐怖。

你会想:我还是看看邮件或是小憩一会了吧!先生，千万别这样。

马上开始写，马上打字，你写什么没有关系，只是让我听到你敲键盘的声音吧。

只要你开始写了，什么都好办了。

像我的话，我喜欢先敲上我的名字和文章的标题，这应该不难吧，然后再慢慢的展开情节，全身心地融入进去…关键是:开始可以随便写写，随便涂鸦，但是尽快开始写正文。

6.集中精神:写作是一件一心一意的事情，在嘈杂的环境或是同时干着别的事情，是不可能写好的。

写作需要一个安静的环境，需要一点点柔和的背景音乐。

即使是最低要求，你也需要在全屏(没有其他软件得干扰)的条件下，使用WriteRoom， DarkRoom，Writer这些写作软件，不受打扰的写作。

关掉邮箱，关点MSN和Gtalk，关掉电话和手机，关掉电视，清理掉书桌上无用的东西。

清除与写作无关的一切杂念，现在就是写作的时间，好像把自己放进一个盒子里，在没有任何打扰下进入写作状态。

7.先计划，再写: 这好像和“随便涂鸦”有些矛盾，实际上不是这样。

在坐下来正式写之前，先做个计划或是脑子里先预演一下，这是非常管用的办法。

每天跑步的时候想想要写的东西，或是散步的时间来个头脑风暴;然后把想到的记下来，做一个扼要的提纲;等真正准备好开始写了，可以很快的展开，因为思路和想法都有了。

这里，有一个构思小说的三部曲，可以参考这个:Snowflake Method.

8.创新: 你需要模仿名家，这并不意味你要跟他们写得一模一样。

你可以试试新的写法，从这里学一点，从那里学一点。

渐渐地，你就会有了自己的风格，自己的文体，自己的思路。

试试一些不一样的表达，或创造一些与众不同的表达方式，每一方法你都可以尝试，看看它到底怎么样，不好就不用呗。

9.修改: 你开始构思你的文字，然后试着写，让故事情节展开，最后你需要回过头再看看你都写了什么。

这点很重要，很多写手一旦写好就不想修改，已经费时费力地写好了，还要再花时间修改，实在是一件吃力不讨好的活。

但如果你想写得更好，你就要学会如何修改。

好的作品是经过反复的推敲和修改而成的，这会让你的作品从平庸中脱颖而出。

看看你写的东东，不仅仅是那些拼写和语法错误，还有那些无意义的词，混乱的结构，和让人搞不懂的句子。

修改的目标是:更清晰，更直接，更鲜活。

10.简明扼要: 这是你在修改的过程中，最重要的一件事情。

一句句，一段段的修改，把无关主题的统统都删掉。

一个短句比一段冗长的废话更具说服力，大白话比晦涩的专业术语更受欢迎。

记得:简单就是力量。

11.富于感染力的句子:在短句中使用富有感染力的动词，当然，并没有要求每一句都是这样，你需要变化。

但是，多试试能够吸引人的句子。

而且，你没有必要等到你要修改的时候再用，你刚开始写的时候就要考虑这个问题。

12.获取别人的反馈: 闭门造车不会有任何进步，让别人读读你的文章给你回馈，最好有经验的作家和编辑。

他们见多识广，会给你很中肯和有见地的建议。

认真的听，即使是一些批评，也接受它，忠言逆耳，这样只会让你写得更好。

13.是骡子还是马，拉出来溜溜:就你而言，你需要让别人读到你的作品。

你的作品不是你想谁看谁就看的，让所有的人都读到你的文章。

你就要出版自己的书，发表自己的短篇小说和诗歌，给出版社供稿。

如果你已经开始写博客了，恭喜你，这是一个好的开始。

若现在还没有人浏览过，你就需要把它放到流量更大的博客服务网站上去，让读者给你留言，给你提出建议。

所有的人都会看你写东西，也许刚开始时会是件伤脑筋的事情，但这是每一位作家成长的必由之路，马上发表你的文字吧。

14.采用对话式的文体: 很多人的写作都很正式，但是我发现像我们说话一样写作会使文章更流畅(没有叹生词)。

这样一来，读者看起来会更舒服。

刚开始这么写并不容易，你需要坚持这么做。

也许，会带来另一个问题，为了读起来更口语化，你需要打破一些语法规则(就像我的前一句那样)。

因为如果生搬硬套语法，会让你的文章看起来很不自然。

若没有其他原因，就不要破坏语法规则。

你需要知道你在做什么和为什么这样做。

15.好开头和结尾: 开头和结尾是文章的重点。

特别是开头。

如果你不能在故事的开始就吸引读者，那他们就很难有耐心把整篇文章读完。

所以投入更多的时间去考虑怎么写好开头，读者一旦对你开头感兴趣，他们会想知道得更多...写好开头后，再弄一个精彩的结尾，这会让读者更加期待你的下一篇佳作。

写作结尾小技巧

技法1：卒章显志法

【例1】亲情是一种动力，它能让你走进“独上高楼，望尽天涯路”的境界;能让你拥有“衣带渐宽终不悔，为伊消得人憔悴”的执著;能让你品味“报得三春晖”的快乐。

作者以诗意的语言解读亲情的内涵，揭示亲情的力量，把亲情的魅力展示得情感飞扬。卒章显志，主旨鲜明。

【例2】“无论在人生中会遇到什么样的困难，永远都不会放弃，做一个生活的强者!”——这就是我的承诺。(中考作文《这是我的承诺》的结尾)

在文章的结尾，作者非常明确地表达出“我的承诺”的内容，既紧扣文题，又揭示出文章的主旨，可谓卒章显志，曲终奏雅。而且，这一句饱含激情、掷地有声的话语，显示出作者坚强的决心、豪迈的气概，可爱，可敬。

技法2：藏而不露法

【例1】母亲坐在桌前开始吃我为她煮的那碗寿面，我也坐在一边看着她。忽然，我看见两颗晶莹的泪珠滑落在碗里。我问：“妈妈你怎么啦?”母亲抬起了头，哭了。(中考作文《妈妈的生日》的结尾)

文章结尾的描写藏而不露，字里行间流露出母亲因孩子的懂事、“长大”而幸福得落泪的欣慰之情。

江苏省南通市的中考作文《天籁——记一次蛙鸣》，小作者从“独鸣”、“散鸣”、“齐鸣”等多个角度描写了不易捕捉的蛙声，使之诗意化、人格化。并且在“齐鸣”中，议论、抒情与感悟人生相协调，点出文旨“唱出生命的赞歌”。

最让人欣赏的是文章的结尾：“倾听，心听。欣赏，心赏。”它运用了谐音双关的手法，道出文章“倾听”的特质——人与自然的对话与沟通。这个精练而又耐人寻味的结尾，把读者引入一个无限广阔的空间，让读者去感悟，去遐想!

技法3：画龙点睛法

【例1】春天像刚落地的娃娃，从头到脚都是新的，它生长着。

春天像小姑娘，花枝招展的，笑着，走着。

春天像健壮的青年，有铁一般的胳膊和腰脚，领着我们上前去。(课文《春》的结尾)

作者用比喻突出了春天三个特点：新、美丽、有力量，从全新的角度以精辟的语言，总结了全文，揭示了文章的主题。

【例2】马克思的一生，是光辉的一生，也是刻苦学习的一生。他的勤奋学习的精神，是永远值得我们学习的。(《马克思的好学精神》一文的结尾)

结尾对马克思的一生作了概括的、高度的总结，并且点明了题旨。

【例3】朋友，别忘了，做人要从学会说“不”开始，对于失败，对于挫折，对于侮辱，对于强权，要勇敢地说“不”。(2007年山东省青岛市中考作文《做人从学会说“不”开始》)

结尾既总结了全文，也点明了文章的主旨。

技法4：抒情议论法

【例1】我望着这群充满朝气的哈尼小姑娘和那洁白的梨花，不由得想起了一句诗：“驿路梨花处处开”。(课文《驿路梨花》的结尾)

结尾抒发了作者赞颂雷锋精神已成为每个人的自觉行动的情怀。

【例2】亲爱的朋友们，当你坐上早晨第一列电车驰向工厂的时候，当你……他们确实是我们最可爱的人!(课文《谁是最可爱的人》的结尾)

不仅充分表达了作者对志愿军战士的爱和赞颂之情，而且对读者有强烈的感染作用。

【例3】是啊!做人要从学会放弃开始。放弃，是我心中一首永恒的诗;放弃，是我生活中一曲五彩的歌;放弃，让我心中的天堑变通途。(2007年山东省青岛市中考作文《做人从学会放弃开始》)

作者用诗一般的语言抒发了自己对“放弃”的深深理解和感悟。

技法5：警世醒目法

【例1】动物是我们的朋友，但是却有很多人把它们作为美食。他们虽然大饱口福了，但被吃掉的却是中国和谐的自然环境，更是生态平衡啊!想到这些，我茫然了：我们在吃中国?我们在吃中国!(2007年江苏省扬州市中考作文《吃在中国?在吃中国!》)

小作者高瞻远瞩，告诉世人：你们是在吃中国啊!这是多么警世醒目的语言啊。

【例2】但是，一切已太迟了，太迟了……(《当地球剩下最后一只猴子》)

作者通过地球上最后一只猴子的自述，大胆而真实地幻想了人类是如何一步步走上灭绝之路的。触目惊心的恶果字字千钧，具有震聋发聩、撼人心魄的警世醒目之力。

技法6：设问存疑法

【例1】人之立志，顾不如蜀鄙之僧哉?(课文《为学》的结尾)

以问号作结，寓浓烈的感情于朴素的文字之中，发人深省，给人以深刻的印象。

【例2】“从这么一个开端，这么一个结局里，聪明人难道看不出道理来吗?”(《金融家》的结尾)

采用了反问的形式，这就使结尾不仅深刻有力，而且耐人寻味。

【例3】有一篇中考优秀作文《简单与不简单》，在列举了种种“简单与不简单”的现象，分析了“简单与不简单”的辩证关系之后，文章结尾时，作者写道：

我们每个人的身上都同时有着简单和不简单，问题是我们该追求什么样的简单和不简单。朋友，你说呢?

作者巧妙地提出了“该追求什么样的简单和不简单”的严肃的命题，引发读者思考，启示人们作出正确的抉择，追求有意义的人生。作者尽管没有明说，但引人深思，催人警醒。

技法7：添加后记法

【例1】后记：携反省一起上路，才能在上帝关上门后，发现他留出的另一扇窗。(2007年河北省中考作文《携反省一起上路》)

作者用这个后记使文章新人耳目，画龙点睛，发人深省。

【例2】如中考作文《鲁迅先生，只有一个》的后记：先生正等着我们走出浮华的海面，款款地步入他的心房，与他进行灵魂深处的交流!

在文章的主体部分，作者通过比较尽显鲁迅及其作品的非凡价值，表现出对社会冷落鲁迅的愤慨，进而呼吁我们去亲近和阅读鲁迅及其作品。而后记部分则换了一个角度，以鲁迅先生的视角，呼吁我们与他交流，使文章进一步敲击着读者的心扉，从而走近鲁迅。可以说，这一段后记，堪成画龙点睛之笔，与文章的主体部分互为补充，相得益彰。

技法8：出乎意料法

这种结尾不是按照故事情节的通常逻辑来处理人物的结局，而是用意想不到的结局来安排人物的最终命运，而且在这时候戛然而止，让人在目瞪口呆之余，不禁感叹作者的奇思妙想、生活的荒谬诡谲。如大家熟知的《麦琪的礼物》的结尾就非常出人意料，大大增强了小说的艺术感染力，被称为欧·亨利式结尾。

技法9：首尾呼应法

【例】

[首]都说生活的船不能没有理想的帆，都说生活的理想就是为了理想的生活，而理想的生活中最快乐的时光，便是梦想的花季。

[尾]花季中，我希望自己能永远记住先哲的那句良训：生活的船不能没有理想的帆，生活的理想就是为了理想的生活。

技法10：景物烘托法

如中考满分作文《雨中品读》结尾：风停了，暴雨也结束了，太阳重新露出了笑容。隔在两代人之间的那扇玻璃也被雨后的那片残阳熔化了。太阳在远处逐渐隐去，消失在一片晚霞中，两者混为一体，没有距离。

技法11：引用诗句法

如中考满分作文《生活，使我懂得了放弃》的结尾：“野芳发而幽香，佳木秀而繁阴，风霜高洁，水落而石出”，15年来，生活让我懂得了放弃!为了我的理想，为了更多的人可以读书，我必须放弃!

技法12：展望未来法

即在叙述现状之后，结尾展望未来，鼓舞人心，激励斗志。这样的结尾应紧扣题目，照应开头，衔接文章的重点和主体，不仅能引起读者对全文的回味，加深对文章中心思想的印象，而且会使读者受到启发和鼓舞。

写作时要注意，如果文章开头是点明中心，结尾一般采用展望未来的方法，同时，展望的内容一定要与文章的中心思想有关，切忌生搬硬套。

技法13：虚实错位法

每当夜间疲倦，正想偷懒时，仰面在灯光中瞥见他黑瘦的面貌，似乎正要说出抑扬顿挫的话来，便使我忽又良心发现，而且增加勇气了，于是点上一支烟，再继续写些为“正人君子”之流所深恶痛疾的文字。(课文《藤野先生》的结尾)

文章借幻像使虚实错位，把实有的感受抽象化，从而提升作品的格调，这就是使用虚实错位法的结尾。

也可借梦境使虚实错位，如《荔枝蜜》的结尾：“这天夜里，我做了个奇怪的梦，梦见自己变成了一只小蜜蜂。”通过写梦，将文章的寓意推到更高层次，深化了主题，升华了意境。

技法14：留白拓展法

路过幸福，让我感到生命的可贵;路过幸福，让我感到生活的充实;路过幸福，让我感到人生的快乐。朋友，请放缓你的脚步，睁大你的眼睛，敞开你的胸怀……

这是中考满分作文《路过幸福》一文的结尾，采用抒情性的留白，拓展文意，让人回想。留白拓展法就是在作文的结尾有意留下一定的空白，让读者在意犹未尽的氛围中发挥想象，荡开思绪。除抒情性留白，也可设疑留白，如中考满分文《哈哈镜中的我》：

何必要让自己狭小的视角不公正地评价一个人、伤害一个人，何必要熄灭风中的烛光，何必要让所有的孩子都成为一个模子里刻出来的无个性的模型?

以问句结束，余音绕梁，启迪读者进行思考，深化了文章的内涵。

技法15：再现情境法

我在朦胧中，眼前展开一片海边碧绿的沙地来，上面深蓝的天空中挂着一轮金黄的圆月。我想：希望是本无所谓有，无所谓无的。这正如地上的路;其实地上本没有路，走的人多了，也便成了路。(课文《故乡》的结尾)

结尾处再现优美的情境，既是对前文的照应，也是对作品主旨的强调，表达了鲁迅对踏出希望之路的信心。

也可用典型的形象再现，如《背影》的结尾：

我读到此处，在晶莹的泪光中，又看见那肥胖的，青布棉袍，黑布马褂的背影。唉!我不知何时再能与他相见。

再现父亲买橘背影，真切感人，引起读者强烈共鸣。

对未来不懈追求，是理想形成的动力和源泉。下面是关于理想的英语名言，供大家写作参考。

1.And love, young men, and venerate the ideal. The ideal is the word of God. High above every country, high above humanity, is the country of the spirit, the city of the soul.

青年人啊，热爱理想吧，崇敬理想吧。理想是上帝的语言。高于一切国家和全人类的，是精神的王国，是灵魂的故乡。

2.Between the ideal and the reality, between the motion and the act, falls the shadow.

理想与现实之间，动机与行为之间，总有一道阴影。

3.Ideals are like the stars... we never reach them, but like mariners, we chart our course by them.

理想就像是星星...我们永远够不着它，但是我们像水手一样，靠星星指引航程。

4.The ideal is in thyself, the impediment too is thyself.

理想存乎已心，障碍亦是如此

5.Its is the most pleasant thing in the world to struggle for a noble ideal.

世界上最快乐的事，就是为理想而奋斗

6.Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real.

但凡人能想像到的事物，必定有人能将它实现。

7.Ideal is the beacon. Without ideal, there is no secure direction; without direction, there is no life.

理想是指路明灯。没有理想，就没有坚定的方向;没有方向，就没有生活

8.The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.

实现明天理想的惟一障碍是今天的疑虑。

9.High expectation are the key to every thing.

远大理想是开启万物的钥匙。

10.The important thing in life is to have a great aim, and the determination to attain it.

人生重要的事情就是确定一个伟大的目标，并决心实现它。

11.Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass.

生活没有目标就像航海没有指南针。

12.Life is not all beer and skittles.

人生并不全是吃喝玩乐。

13.Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.

不要放弃你的幻想。当幻想没有了以后，你还可以生存，但虽生犹死

14.No man or woman who tries to pursue an ideal in his or her own way is without enemies.

凡按自己的方式追求理想者，无不树敌。

15.How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.

我们怎样打发日子，当然，也就是我们怎样度过这一生。

16.If you doubt yourself, then indeed you stand on shaky ground. (Ibsen, Norwegian dramatist )

如果你怀疑自己，那么你的立足点确实不稳固了。 (挪威剧作家 易卜生)

17.If you would go up high, then use your own legs ! Do not let yourselves carried aloft; do not seat yourselves on other people’s backs and heads. (F. W. Nietzsche, German Philosopher)

如果你想走到高处，就要使用自己的两条腿!不要让别人把你抬到高处;不要坐在别人的背上和头上。(德国哲学家 尼采. F. W.)

18.It is at our mother’s knee that we acquire our noblest and truest and highest, but there is seldom any money in them. ( Mark Twain, American writer )

就是在我们母亲的膝上，我们获得了我们的最高尚、最真诚和最远大的理想，但是里面很少有任何金钱。(美国作家 马克·吐温)

19.The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully 19 have been kindness, beauty and truth.(Albert Einstein, American scientist)

有些理想曾为我们引过道路，并不断给我新的勇气以欣然面对人生，那些理想就是--真、善、美。 (美国科学家 爱因斯坦. A.)

20.The important thing in life is to have a great aim, and the determination to attain it. (Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, German Poet and dramatist)

人生重要的事情就是确定一个伟大的目标，并决心实现它。(德国诗人、戏剧家 歌德. J. M.)

21.If winter comes, can spring be far behind ?( P. B. Shelley, British poet )

冬天来了，春天还会远吗?( 英国诗人, 雪莱. P. B.)

22.The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds. (Mark Twain, American writer)

具有新想法的人在其想法实现之前是个怪人。 (美国作家 马克·吐温)

23.When an end is lawful and obligatory, the indispensable means to is are also lawful and obligatory. (Abraham Lincoln, American statesman)

如果一个目的是正当而必须做的，则达到这个目的的必要手段也是正当而必须采取的。(美国政治家 林肯. A.)

24.The dream is a kind of desire, think it is a kind of action. Dream is the dream and want to crystallization.梦是一种欲望，想是一种行动。梦想是梦与想的结晶。

25.A realization of dream, is a successful person.一个实现梦想的人，就是一个成功的人。

26.Dream no matter how vague, the total hidden in our hearts, our feelings never be quiet, until the dream become a reality.梦想无论怎样模糊，总潜伏在我们心底，使我们的心境永远得不到宁静，直到这些梦想成为事实。

27.Dream is the soul, is our secret truth ( Truman Capote )梦是心灵的思想，是我们的秘密真情(杜鲁门·卡波特)

28.Once the dream into action, will become sacred (, Ann Procter )梦想一旦被付诸行动，就会变得神圣(阿·安·普罗克特)

29.The dreamer is afraid of Destiny ( Thomas Phillips )梦想家的缺点是害怕命运(斯·菲利普斯)

30.A man is not old as long as he is seeking something. A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams. (J. Barrymore) 只要一个人还有追求，他就没有老。直到后悔取代了梦想，一个人才算老。(巴里摩尔)

31.If you would go up high , then use your own legs! Do not let yourselves carried aloft; do not seat yourselves on other people’s backs and heads . (F. W . Nietzsche , German Philosopher) 如果你想走到高处，就要使用自己的两条腿!不要让别人把你抬到高处;不要坐在别人的背上和头上。(德国哲学家 尼采. F. W.)

32.Have an aim in life, or your energies will be wasted.没有目标的一生注定碌碌无为，确定一个目标吧。——R.Peters

以下英语短句由语文迷网整理提供，更多英语写作素材请看语文迷作文网。

1. be closely related to…与…息息相关

2. be essential to sb 对某人来说必不可少

3. in a society with more competitions and challenges / in a competitive society

4. feel frustrated (挫折的)/ discouraged

5. a precious (宝贵的) experience

6. raise / arouse the awareness of …

7. acquire knowledge and skills学习知识和技能

8. a growing /increasing tendency

9. have a desire for sth / to do sth

10. put sth into practice

11. be keen on… 热衷于…

12. broaden one’s horizons开阔眼界

13. a large variety of / a wide range of …

14. make one’s dream come true

15. lay a solid/firm/stable foundation for/in…为…/在…方面打下坚实的基础

16. listen to teachers attentively

17. make a practical plan

18. hold the strong belief that…

19. I’m confident / I’m convinced that…

20. with iron will and perseverance

21. pursue one’s dream 追逐梦想

22. arouse one’s passion for…唤起对…的热情

23. resist the temptation of good food

24. change one’s original mind

25. spare no effort to do sth 不遗余力做…

26. redouble one’s effort 加倍努力

27. leave a deep impression on sb

28. turn to sb for help / advice

29. relieve/lessen/reduce/ease one’s burden

30. with time going by=as time goes by

31. cherish/treasure/value our lives

32. vary from person to person

33. a boarding school 寄宿制学校

34. What surprised me most was that…

35. cause severe consequences(后果)

36. pay their tuition/school fees/schooling

37. physically and mentally

38. Some in favor of it think that…., while others are against it, holding the opinion that…

39. Success stems from hard work as it can help us accomplish the goal we’re striving for.

40. establish a special fund to help the poor

41. its negative aspect/impact is also obvious.

42. motivate sb to do sth

43. bury oneself into study埋头学习

44. our determination and efforts

45. express my gratitude to her sincerely

46. be strict with sb in sth

47. achieve the final victory

48. encounter/face some difficulties

49. neglect the disadvantages

50. With the great efforts we’ve made, …

51. enhance/improve his ability of singing

52. be optimistic about

下面的材料旨在丰富学生在是非问题写作方面的思想和语言，考生在复习时可以先分类阅读这些篇章，然后尝试写相关方面的作文题。

对于素材中用黑体字的部分，特别建议你熟读，背诵，因为它们在语言和观点上都值得吸收。学习语言的人应该明白，表达能力和思想深度都靠日积月累，潜移默化。从某种意义上说，提高英语写作能力无捷径可走，你必须大段背诵英语文章才能逐渐形成语感和用英语进行表达的能力。这一关，没有任何人能代替你过。

因此，建议你下点苦功夫，把背单词的精神拿出来背诵文章。何况，并不是要求你背了之后永远牢记在心：你可以这个星期背，下个星期忘。这没有关系，相信你的大脑具有神奇的能力。背了工具箱里的文章后，你会惊讶的发现：I can think in English now！

1.?????? Proverbs

1. A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that individuality is the key to success.

2. The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one’s mind a pleasant place in which to spend one’s time.

3. Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained.

4. The classroom--not the trench--is the frontier of freedom now and forevermore.

5. Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.

6. It is the purpose of education to help us become autonomous, creative, inquiring people who have the will and intelligence to create our own destiny.

7. You see, real ongoing, lifelong education doesn’t answer questions; it provokes them.

8. People will pay more to be entertained than educated.

9.the most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others. This is the basic architecture of a life; the rest is ornamentation and decoration of the structure.

10. The essence of our efforts to see that every child has a chance must be to assure each as equal opportunity, not to become equal, but to become different-to realize whatever unique potential of body, mind, and spirit he or she possesses.

11. A great teacher never strives to explain his vision-he simply invites you to stand beside him and see for yourself.

12. If you can read and don’, you are an illiterate by choice.

2. Damaging Research

A study by National Parent-Teacher Organization revealed that in the average American school, eighteen negatives are identified for every positive that is pointed out. The Wisconsin study revealed that when children enter the first grade, 80 percent of them feel pretty good themselves, but by the time they get to the sixth grade, only 10 percent of them have good self-images.

3. Education and Citizenship

An important aspect of education in the United States is the relationship between education and citizenship. Throughout its history this nation has emphasized public education as a means of transmitting democratic values, creating equality of opportunity, and preparing new generations of citizens to function in society. In addition, the schools have been expected to help shape society itself. During the 1950s, for example, efforts to combat racial segregation focused on the schools. Later, when the Soviet Union launched the first orbiting satellite, American schools and colleges came under intense pressure and were offered many incentives to improve their science and mathematics programs so that the nations would not fall behind the Soviet Union in scientific and technological capabilities.

Education is often viewed as a tool for solving social problems, especially social inequality. The schools, t is thought, can transform young people from vastly different backgrounds into competent, upwardly mobile adults. Yet these goals seem almost impossible to attain. In recent years, in fact, public education has been at the center of numerous controversies arising from the gap between the ideal and the reality. Part of the problem is that different groups in society have different have different expectations. Some feel that children should be taught basic job-related skills; still others believe education should not only prepare children to compete in society but also help them maintain their cultural identity (and, in the case of Hispanic children, their language). On the other hand, policymakers concerned with education emphasize the need to increase the level of student achievement and to improve parents in their children’s education.

Some reformers and critics have called attention to the need to link formal schooling with programs designed to address social problems. Sociologist Charles Moscos, for example, is a leader in the movement to expand programs like the Peace Corps, Vista, and Outward Bound into a system of voluntary national service. National service, as Moscos defines it, would entail “the full-time undertaking of public duties by young people whether as citizen soldiers or civilian servers-who are paid subsistence wages” and serve for at least one year. In return for this period of service, the volunteers would receive assistance in paying for college or other educational expenses.

Advocates of national service and school-to-work programs believe that education does not have to be confined to formal schooling. In devising strategies to provide opportunities for young people to serve their society, they emphasize the educational value of citizenship experiences gained outside the classroom. At this writing there is little indication that national service will become a new educational institution in the United States, although the concept is steadily gaining support among educators and social critics.

4. The Teacher’s Role

Given the undeniable importance of classroom experience, sociologists have done a considerable amount of research on what goes on in the classroom. Often they start from the premise that, along with the influence of peers, students’ experiences in the classroom are of central importance to their later development. One study examined the impact of a single first-grade teacher on her students’ subsequent adult status. The surprising results of this study have important implications. It is evident that good teachers can make a big difference in children’s lives, a fact that gives increased urgency to the need to improve the quality of primary-school teaching. The reforms carried out by educational leaders like James Comer suggest that when good teaching is combined with high levels of parental involvement the results can be even more dramatic.

Because the role of the teacher is to change the learner in some way, the teacher-student relationship is an important part of education. Sociologists have pointed out that this relationship is asymmetrical or unbalanced, with the teacher being in a position of authority and the student having little choice but to passively absorb the information provided by the teacher. In other words, in conventional classrooms there is little opportunity for the students to become actively involved in the learning process. On the other hand, students often develop strategies for undercutting the teacher’s authority: mentally withdrawing, interrupting, and the like. Hence, much current research assumes that students and teachers influence each other instead of assuming that the influence is always in a single direction.

5. Education Philosophy

For the past fifty years our schools have operated on the theories of John Dewey (1859-1953), an American educator and writer. Dewey believed hat the school’s job was to enhance the natural development of the growing child, rather than to pour information, for which the child had no context, into him or her. In the Dewey system, the child becomes the active agent in his own education, rather than a passive receptacle for facts.

Consequently, American schools are very enthusiastic about teaching “life skills” –logical thinking, analysis, creative problem--solving. The actual content of the lessons is secondary to the process, which is supposed to train the child to be able to handle whatever life may present, including all the unknowns of the future. Students and teachers both regard pure memorization as an uncreative and somewhat vulgar.

In addition to “life skills”, schools are assigned to solve the ever growing stoke of social problems. Racism, teenage pregnancy, alcoholism, drug use, reckless driving, and are just a few of the modern problems that have appeared on the school curriculum.

This all contributes to a high degree of social awareness in American youngsters.

6. Student Life

To the students, the most notable difference between elementary school and the higher levels is that in junior high they start “changing classes”. This means that rather than spending the day in one classroom, they switch classrooms to meet their different teachers. This gives them three or four minutes between classes in the hallways, where a great deal of the important social action of high school traditionally takes place. Students have lockers in these hallways, around which thy congregate.

Society in general does not take the business of studying very seriously. Schoolchildren have a great deal of free time, which they are encouraged to fill with extracurricular activities—sports, clubs, cheerleading, scouts—supposed to inculcate such qualities as leadership, sportsmanship, ability to organize, etc. those who don’t become engaged in such activities or have afterschool jobs have plenty of opportunity to “hang out”, listen to teenager music, and watch television.

Compared to other nations, American students do not have much homework. Studies also show that American parents have lower expectations for their children’s success in school than other nationalities do. (Historically, there has not been much correlation between American school success and success in later life.) “He’s just not a scholar”, the American parents might say, content that their son is on the swim team and doesn’t take drugs. (Some of the young do choose to study hard, for reason of their own, such as determining that the road to riches lies through Harvard Business School.)

What American schools do effectively teach is the competitive method. In innumerable ways children are pitted against each other—whether in classroom discussion, spelling bees, reading groups, or tests. Every classroom is expected to produce a scattering of A’s and F’s (teachers often grade A=excellent; B=good; C=average; D=poor; and F=failed). A teacher who gives all A’s looks too soft—so students are aware that they are competing for the limited number of top marks.

Foreign students sometimes don’t understand that copying from other people’s papers or from books is considered wrong and taken seriously. Here, it is important to show that you have done your own work and are displaying your own knowledge. It is more important than helping your friends to pass, whom we think do not deserve to pass unless they can provide their own answers. Group effort goes against the competitive grain, and American students do not study together as many Asians do. Many Asians in this country consider their group study habits a large contributor to their school success.

7. Adult Education

After complaining about many aspects of American life, a 40-year-old woman from Hong Kong concluded, “But where else could someone my age go back to school and get a degree in social work? Here you can change your whole life, start a new business, do what you really want to do.”

So at least to this person, school requirements weren’t inhibiting. And to millions of others, adult education is the path to a new career, or if not to a new career, to a new outlook. Schools generally encourage the older person who wants to start anew, and besides regular classes, schedule evening classes in special programs. Today there are so many people of retirement age in college that it is no longer remarkable.

8. Moral Relativism in American

Improving American education requires not doing new things but doing (and remembering) some good old things. At the time of our nation’s founding, Thomas Jefferson listed the requirements for a sound education in the Report of the Commissioners for the University of Virginia. In this landmark statement on American education, Jefferson wrote of the importance of education and writing, and of reading history, and geography. But he also emphasized the need “to instruct the mass of our citizens in these, their rights, interests, and duties, as men and citizens.” Jefferson believed education should aim at the improvement of both one’s “morals” and “faculties”. That has been the dominant view of the aims of American education for over two centuries. But a number of changes, most of them unsound, have diverted schools from these great pursuits. And the story of the loss of the school’s original moral mission explains a great deal.

Starting in the early seventies, “values clarification” programs started turning up in schools all over America. According to this philosophy, the schools were not to take part in their time-honored task of transmitting sound moral values; rather, they were to allow the child to “clarify” his own values (which adults, including parents, had no “rights” to criticize). The “values clarification” movement didn’t clarify values; it clarified wants and desires. This form of moral relativism said, in effect, that no set of values was right or wrong; everybody had an equal right to his own values; and all values were subjective, relative, and personal. This destructive view took hold with a vengeance.

In 1985 The York Times published an article quoting New York area educators, in slavish devotion to this new view, proclaiming, “They deliberately avoid trying to tell students what is ethically right and wrong.” The article told of one counseling session involving fifteen high school juniors and seniors. In the course of that session a student concluded that a fellow student had been foolish to return one thousand dollars she found in a purse at school. According to the article, when the youngsters asked the counselor’s opinion, “He told them he believed the girl had done the right thing, but that, of course, he would not try to force his values on them. ‘If I come from the position of what is wrong,’ he explained, ‘then I’m not their counselor.’”

Once upon a time, a counselor offered counselor, and he knew that an adult does not form character in the young by taking a stance of neutrality toward questions of right and wrong or by merely offering “choices” or “options”.

In response to the belief that adults and educators should teach children sound morals, one can expect from some quarters indignant objections (I’ve heard one version of it expressed countless times over the years): “Who are you to say what’s important?” or “Whose standards and judgments do we use?”

The correct response, it seems to me, is, is we ready to do away with standards and judgments? Is anyone going to argue seriously that a life of cheating and swindling is as worthy as a life of honest, hard work? Is anyone (with the exception of some literature professors at our elite universities) going to argue seriously the intellectual corollary, that a Marvel comic book is as good as Macbeth? Unless we are willing to embrace some pretty silly position, we’ve got to admit the need for moral and intellectual standards. The problem is that some people tend to regard anyone who would pronounce a definitive judgment as an unsophisticated Philistine or a closed-minded “elitist” trying to impose his view on everybody else.

The truth of the real world is that without standards and judgments, there can be no progress. Unless we are prepared to say irrational things—that nothing can be proven more valuable than anything else or that everything is equally worthless—we must ask the normative question. It may come, as a surprise to those who fell that to be “progressive” is to be value-neutral. But as Matthew Amold said, “the world is forwarded by having its attention fixed on the best things” and if the world can’t decide what the best things are, at least to some degree, then it follows that progress, and character, is in trouble. We shouldn’t be reluctant to declare that some things, some lives, books, ideas, and values are better than others. It is the responsibility of the schools to teach these better things.

At one time, we weren’t so reluctant to teach them. In the mid-nineteenth century, a diverse, widespread group of crusaders began to work for the public support of what was then called the “common school”, the forerunner of the public school. They were to be charged with the mission of school felt that the nation could fulfill its destiny only if every new generation was taught these values together in a common institution.

The leaders of the common school movement were mainly citizens who were prominent in their communities—businessmen, ministers, local civic and government officials. These people saw the schools as upholders of standards of individual morality and small incubators of civic and personal virtue; the founders of the public schools had faith that public education could teach good moral and civic character from a common ground of American values.

But in the past quarter century or so, some of the so-called experts became experts of value neutrality, and moral education was increasingly left in their hands. The commonsense view of parents and the publicthat schools should reinforce rather than undermine the values of home, family, and country, was increasingly rejected.

There are those today still that claim we are now too diverse a nation, that we consist of too many competing convictions and interests to instill common values. They are wrong. Of course we are a diverse people. We have always been a diverse people. And as Madison wrote in FederalistNo.10, the competing, balancing interests of a diverse people can help ensure the survival of liberty. But there are values that all American citizens share and that we should want all American students to know and to make their own: honesty, fairness, self-discipline, fidelity to task, friends, and family, personal responsibility, love of country, and belief in the principles of liberty, equality, and the freedom to practice one’s faith. The explicit teaching of these values is the legacy of the common schools, and it is a legacy to which we must return.

9. Schools Should Teach Values

People often said, “Yes, we should teach these values, but how do we teach them?” this question deserves a candid response, one that isn’t given often enough. It is by exposing our children to good character and inviting its imitation that we will transmit to them a moral foundation. This happens when teachers and principals, by their words and actions, embody sound convictions. As Oxford’s Mary Warnock has written, “You cannot teach morality without being committed to morality yourself; and you cannot be committed to morality yourself without holding that some things are right and others wrong.” The theologian Martin Buber wrote that the educator is distinguished from all other influences “by his will to take part in the stamping of character and by his consciousness that he represents in the eyes of the growing person a certain selection of what is, the selection of what is ‘right’, of what should be.” It is in this will, Buber says, in this clear standing for something, that the “vocation as an educator finds its fundamental expression.”

There is no escaping the fact that young people need as example principals and teachers who know the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, and who themselves exemplify high moral purpose.

As Education Secretary, I visited a class at Waterbury Elementary School in Waterbury, Vermont, and asked the students, “Is this a good school?” They answered, “Yes, this is a good school.” I asked them, “Why?” Among other things, one eight-year-old said, “The principal Mr. Riegel, makes good rules and everybody obeys them.” So I said, “Give me an example.” And another answered, “You can’t climb on the pipes in the bathroom. We don’t climb on the pipes and the principal doesn’t either.”

This example is probably too simple to please a lot of people who want to make the topic of moral education difficult, but there is something profound in the answer of those children, something education should pay more attention to. You can’t expect children to take messages about rules or morality seriously unless they see adults taking those rules seriously in their day-to-day affairs. Certain must be said, certain limits lay down, and certain examples set. There is no other way.

We should also do a better job at curriculum selection. The research shows that most “values education” exercises and separate courses in “moral reasoning” tend not to affect children’s behavior; if anything, they may leave children morally adrift. Where to turn? I believe our literature and our history are a rich quarry of moral literacy. We should mine that quarry. Children should have at their disposal a stock of examples illustrating what we believe to be right and wrong, good and bad—examples illustrating what are morally right and wrong can indeed be known and that there is a difference.

What kind of stories, historical events, and famous lives am I talking about? If we want our children to know about honesty, we should teach them about Abe Lincoln walking three miles to return six cents and conversely, about Aesop’s shepherd boy who cried wolf if we want them to know about courage, we should teach them about Joan of Arc, Horatius at the bridge, and Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. If we want them to know about persistence in the face of adversity, they should know about the voyages of Columbus and the character of Washington during the Civil War. And our youngest should be told about the Little Engine That Could. If we want them to know about respect for the law, they should understand why Socrates told Crito: “No, I must submit to the decree of Athens.” If we want our children to respect the rights of others, they should read the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King, Jr.’ “Letter from Birmingham jail.” From the Bible they should know about Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi, Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers, Jonathan’s friendship with David, the Good Samaritan’s kindness toward a stranger, and David’s cleverness and courage in facing Goliath.

These are only a few of the hundreds of examples we can call on. And we need not get into issues like nuclear war, abortion, creationism, or euthanasia. This may come as a disappointment to some people, but the fact is that the formation of character in young people is educationally a task different from, and prior to, the discussion of the great, difficult controversies of the day. First things come first. We should teach values the same way we teach other things: one step at a time. We should not use the fact that there are many difficult and controversial moral questions as an argument against basic instruction in the subject.

After all, we do not argue against teaching physics because laser physics is difficult, against teaching American history because there are heated disputes about the Founders’ intent. Every field has its complexities and its controversies. And every field has its basics, its fundamentals. So they are too with forming character and achieving moral literacy. As any parent knows, teaching character is a difficult task. But it is a crucial task, because we want our children to be healthy, happy, and successful but decent, strong, and good. None of this happens automatically; there is no genetic transmission of virtue. It takes the conscious, committed efforts of adults. It takes careful attention.

10. College Pressures

Mainly I try to remind that the road ahead is a long one and that it will have more unexpected turns than they think. There will be plenty of time to change jobs, change careers, change whole attitudes and approaches. They don not want to hear such liberating news. They want a map—right now – that they can follow unswervingly to career security, financial security, Social Security and, presumably, a prepaid grave.

What I wish for all students is some release from the clammy grip of the future. I wish them a chance to savor each segment of their education as an experience in itself and not as a grim preparation for the next step. I wish them the right to experiment, to trip and fall, to learn that defeat is as instructive as victory and is not the end of the world.

My wish, of course, is na?ve. One of the national gods venerated in our media—the million-dollar athlete, the wealthy executive—and glorified in our praise of possessions. In the presence of such a potent state religion, the young are growing up old.

I see four kinds of pressure working on college students today: economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure. It is easy to look around for villains—to blame the colleges for charging too much money, the professors for assigning too much work, the parents for pushing their children too far, and the students for driving themselves too hard. But there are no villains: only victims.

“In the late 1960s.” one dean told me. “The typical question that I got from students was ‘Why is there so much suffering in the world’ or ‘how I can make a contribution?’ Today it’s ‘Do you think it would look better for getting into law school if I did a double major in history and political science, or just majored in one of them?’” many other deans confirmed this pattern. One said: “They are trying to find an edge—the intangible something that will look better on paper if two students are about equal.”

Note the emphasis on looking better. The transcript has become a sacred document, the passport to security. How one appears on paper is more important than how one appears in person. A is for Admirable and B is for Borderline, even though, in Yale’s official system of grading, A means “excellent” and B means “very good.” Today, looking very good is no longer good enough, especially for students who hope to go on to law school or medical school. They know that entrance into the better schools will be an entrance into the better law firms and better medical practices where they will make a lot of money. They also know that the odds are harsh. Yale Law School, for instance, matriculates 170students from an applicant pool of 3,700; Harvard enrolls 550 from a pool of 7,000.

It’s all very well for those of us who write letters of recommendation for our students to stress the qualities of humanity that will make them good lawyers or doctors. And it’s nice to think that admission officers are ready reading our letters and looking for the extra dimension of commitment or concern. Still, it would be hard for a student not to visualize these officers shuffling so many transcripts studded with As that they regard a B as positively shameful.

The pressure is almost as heavy on students who just want to graduate and get a job. Long gone are the days of the “gentleman’s C.” when students journeyed through college with a certain relaxation, sampling a wide variety of courses-music, art, philosophy, classics, anthropology, poetry, religion—that would send them out as liberally educated men and women. If I were an employer I would rather employ graduates who have this range and curiosity than those who narrowly pursued safe subjects and high grades. I know countless students whose inquiring minds exhilarate me. I like to hear the play of their ideas. I do not know if they are getting As or Cs, and I do not care. I also like them as people. The country needs them, and they will find satisfying jobs. I tell them to relax. They cannot.

Nor can I blame them. They live in a brutal economy. Tuition, room, and board at most private colleges now come to at least $7,000, not counting books and fees. This might seem to suggest that the colleges are getting rich. But they are equally battered by inflation. Tuition covers only 60 percent of what it costs to educate a student, and ordinarily the remainder comes from what college receives in endowments, grants, and gifts. Now, the remainder keeps being swallowed by the cruel costs—higher every year—of just opening the doors. Heating oil is up. Insurance is up. Postage is up. Health-premium costs are up. Everything is up. Deficits are up. We are witnessing in American the creation of a brotherhood of paupers—colleges, parents, and students, joined by the common bond of debt.

Today it is not unusual for a student, even if he works part time at college and full time during the summer, to accrue $5,000 in loans after four years—loans that he must start to repay within one year after graduation. Exhorted at commencement to go forth into the world, he is already behind as he goes forth. How could he not feel under pressure throughout college to prepare for this day of reckoning? I have used “he,” incidentally, only for brevity. Women at Yale are under no less pressure to justify their expensive education to themselves, their parents, and society. In fact, they are probably under more pressure. For although they leave college superbly equipped to bring fresh leadership to traditionally male jobs, society has not yet caught up with this fact.

Along with economic pressure goes parental pressure. Inevitably, the two are deeply intertwined.

I see many students taking pre-medical courses with joyless tenacity. They go off to their labs as if they were going to the dentist. It saddens me because I know tem in other corners of their life as cheerful people.

“Do you want to medical school?” I asked them.

“I guess so,” they say, without conviction, or “Not really.”

“Then why are you going?”

“Well, my parents want me to be a doctor. They are paying all this money and …”

Poor students, poor parents, they are caught in one of the oldest webs of love and duty and guilt. The parents mean will; they are trying to steer their sons and draughts toward a secure future. But the sons and daughter want to major in history or classics or philosophy—subjects with no “practical” value. Where’s the payoff on the humanities? It’s not easy to persuade such loving parents that the humanities do indeed pay off. The intellectual faculties developed by studying subjects like history and classics—an ability to synthesize and relate, to weigh cause and effect, to see events in perspective—are just the faculties that make creative leaders in business or almost any general field. Still, many fathers would rather put their money on courses that point toward specific profession—courses that are pre-law, pre-medical, pre-business, or, as I sometimes heard it put, “pre-rich.”

But the pressure on students is severe. They are truly torn. One part of them feels obliged to fulfill their parents’ expectations; after all, their parents are older and presumably wiser. Another part tells them that the expectations that are right for their parents are not right for them.

I know a student who wants to be an artist. She is very obviously an artist and will be a good one—she has already had several modest local exhibits. Meanwhile she is growing as a well-round person and taking humanistic subjects that will enrich the inner resources out of which her art will grow. But her father is strongly opposed. He thinks that an artist is a “dumb” thing to be. The student vacillates and tries to please everybody. She keeps up with her art somewhat furtively and takes some of the “dumb” courses her father wants her to take—at least they are dumb courses for her. She is a free spirit on a campus of tense students—no small achievement in it—and she deserves to follow her muse.

Peer pressure and self-induced pressure are also intertwined, and they begin almost at the beginning of freshman year.

“I had a freshman student I’ll call Linda,” one dean told me, “who came in and said she was under terrible pressure because her roommate, Barbara, was much brighter and studied all the time. I could not tell her that Barbara had come in two hours earlier to say the same thing about Linda.”

The story is almost funny—except that it is not. It is symptomatic of all the pressure put together. When every student thinks every other student is working harder and doing better, the only solution is to study harder still. I see students going off to the library every night after dinner and coming back when it closes at midnight. I wish they would sometimes forget about their peers and go to a movie. I hear the clacking of typewriters in the hours before dawn. I see the tension in their eyes when exams are approaching and papers are due: “Will I get everything done?”

Probably they won’t. They will get blocked. They will sleep. They will oversleep. They will bug out.

Part of the problem is that they are expected to do. A professor will assign five page papers. Several students will start writing ten page papers to impress him. Then more students will write ten page papers, and a few will raise the ante to fifteen. Pity the poor student who is still just doing the assignment.

“Once you have twenty or thirty percent of the student population deliberately overexerting,” one dean points out, “It’s bad for everybody. When a teacher gets more and more effort from his class, the student who is doing normal work can be perceived as not doing well. The tactic work, psychologically.”

Why cannot the professor just cut back and not accept longer papers? He can, and he probably will. But by then the term will be half over and the damage done. Grade fever is highly contagious and not easily reversed. Besides, the professor’s main concern is with his course. He knows his students only in relation to the course and does not know that they are also overexerting in their other courses. Nor is it really his business. He did not sign up for dealing with the student as a whole person and with all the emotional baggage the student brought along from home. That’s what deans, masters, chaplains, and psychiatrists are for.

To some extent this is nothing new: a certain number of professors have always been self-contained islands of scholarship and shyness, more comfortable with books than with people. But the new pauperism has widened the gap still further, for professors who actually like to spend time with students do not have as much time to spend. They are also overexerting. If they are young, they are busy trying to publish in order not to perish, hanging by their figure nails onto a shrinking profession.

If they are old and tenured, they are buried under the duties of administering departments—as departmental chairmen or members of committees—that have been thinned out by the budgetary axe.

Ultimately it will be the students’ own business to break the circles in which they are trapped. They are too young to be prisoners of their parents’ dreams and their classmates’ fears. They must be jolted into believing into themselves as unique men and women who have the power to shape their own future.

“Violence is being done to the undergraduate experience,” says Carlos Hortas. “College should be open-ended: at the end it should open many, many roads. Instead, students are choosing their goal in advance, and their choices narrow as they go along. It’s almost as if they think that the country has been codified in the type of jobs that exist-that they’ve got to fit into certain slots. Therefore, fit into the best paying slot.”

“They ought to take chances. Not taking chances will lead to life of colorless mediocrity. They’ll be comfortable. But something in the spirit will be missing.”

I have painted too drab a portrait of today’s students, making them seem a solemn lot. That is only half of their story; if they were so dreary I wouldn’t so thoroughly enjoy their company. The other half is that they are easy to like. They are quick to laugh and to offer friendship. They are not introverts. They are usually kind and are more considerate of one another than any student generation I have known.

Nor are they so obsessed with their studies that they avoid sports and extracurricular activities. On the contrary, they juggle their crowded hours to play on a variety of teams, perform with musical and dramatic groups, and write for campus publications. But this in turn is one more cause of anxiety. There are too many choices. Academically, they have 1,300 courses to select from; outside class they have to decide how much spare time they can spare and how to spend it.

This means that they engage in fewer extracurricular pursuits than their predecessors did. If they want to row on the crew and play in the symphony they will eliminate one; in the ‘60s they would have done both. They also tend to choose activities that are self-limiting. Drama, for instance, is flourishing in all twelve of Yale’s residential colleges, as it never has before. Students hurl themselves into these productions—as actors, directors, carpenters, and technicians—with a dedication to create the best possible play, knowing that the day will come when the run will end and they can get back to their studies.

They also cannot afford to be the willing slave of organizations like the Yale Daily News. Last spring at the one-hundredth anniversary banquet of that paper—who’s past chairmen include such once and future kings as Potter Stewart, Kingman Brewster, and William F. Buckley, Jr.—much was made of the fact that the editorial staff used to be small and totally committed and that “newsies” routinely worked fifty hours a week. In effect they belonged to a club; Newsies is how they defined themselves at Yale. Today’s students will one or two articles a week, when he can, and he defines himself as a student. I’ve never heard the word Newsie except at the banquet.

If I have described the modern undergraduate primarily as a driven creature who is largely ignoring the blithe spirit inside who keeps trying to come out and play, it’s because that’s where the crunch is, not only at Yale but throughout American education. It’s why I think we should all be worried about the values that are nurturing a generation so fearful of risk and so goal-obsessed at such an early age.

I tell students that there is no one “right” way to get ahead—that each of them is a different person, starting from a different point and bound for a different destination. I tell neither them that change is a tonic and that all the slots are not codified nor the frontiers closed. One of my ways of telling them is to invite men and women who have achieved success outside the academic world to come and talk informally with my students during the year. They are heads of companies or ad agencies, editors of magazines, politicians, public officials, television magnates, labor leaders, business executives, Broadway products, artists, writers, economists, photographers, scientists, historians—a mixed bag of achievers.

I asked them to say a few words about how they got started. The students assume that they started in their present profession and knew all along that it was what they wanted to do. Luckily for me, most of them got into their field by a circuitous route, to their surprise, after many detours. The students are startled. They can hardly conceive of a career that was not pre-planned. They can hardly imagine allowing the hand of God or chance to nudge them down some unforeseen trail.

11. To Err Is Wrong

In the summer of 1979, Boston Red Sox first baseman Carl Yastrzemski became the fifteenth player in baseball history to reach the three thousand hit plateaus. This event drew a lot of media attention, and for about a week prior to the attainment of this goal, hundreds of reports covered Yaz’s every more. Finally, one reporter asked, “Hey Yaz, aren’t you afraid all of this attention will go to your head?” Yastrzemski replied, “I look at this way: in my career I’ve been up to bat over ten thousand times. That means I’ve been unsuccessful at the plate over seven thousand times. That fact alone keeps me from getting a swollen head.”?

Most people consider success and failure as opposites, but they are actually both products of the same process. As Yaz suggest, an activity that produces a hit may also produce a miss. It is the same with creative thinking; the same energy that generates good creative ideas also produces errors.

Many people, however, are not comfortable with errors. Our educational system, based on “the right answer” belief, cultivates our thinking in another, more conservative way. From an early age, we are taught that right answers are good and incorrect answers are bad. This value is deeply embedded in the incentive system used in most schools:

Right over 90% of the time = “A”

Right over 80% of the time = “B~”

Right over 70% of the time = “C~” Right over 60% of the time = “D~” Less than 60% correct, you fail.

From this we learn to be right as often as possible and to keep our mistakes to a minimum. We learn, in other words, that “to err is wrong.

Playing It Safe

With this kind of attitude, you aren’t going to be taking too many chances. If you learn that failing even a litter penalizes you (e.g., being wrong only 15% of the time garners you only a “B” performance), you learn not to make mistakes. And more important, you learn not to put yourself to situation where you might fall. This leads to conservative thought pattern designed to avoid the stigma our society puts on “failure”.

I have a friend who recently graduated from college with a Master’s degree in Journalism. For the last six month, she has been trying to find a job, but to no avail. I talked with her about situation, and realized that her problem is that she doesn’t know how to fail. She went through eighteen years of schooling to try any approaches where she might fail. She has been conditioned to believe that failure is bad in and of itself, rather than a potential stepping-stone to new ideas.

Look around. How many middle managers, housewives, administrators, teachers, and other people do you see who are to try anything new because of this failure? Most of us have learned not to make mistakes in public. As a result, we remove ourselves from many learning experience except for those occurring in the most private of circumstances.

Different Logic

From a practical point of view, “to err is wrong” makes sense. Our survival in the everyday world requires us to perform thousand of small tasks without failure. Think about it: you wouldn’t last very long if you were to step out in front of traffic or stick your hand a pot of boiling water. In addition, engineers whose bridges collapse, stock brokers who lose money for their clients, and copywriters whose ad campaigns decrease sales won’t keep their jobs very long.

Nevertheless, too great an adherence to the belief “to err is wrong” can greatly undermine your attempts to generate new ideas. If you are more concerned with producing right answers than generating original ideas, you’ll probably make uncritical use of the rules, formulae, and procedures used to obtain these right answers. By doing this, you’ll by-pass the germinal phase of the creative process, and thus spend litter time testing assumptions, challenging the rules, asking what-if questions, or just playing around with the problem. All of these techniques will produce some incorrect answers, but in the germinal phase errors are viewed as a necessary by-product of creative thinking. As Yaz would put it, “if you want the hits, be prepared for the misses.” That’s the way the game of life goes.

Errors as Stepping Stones

Whenever an error pops up, the usual response is “Jeez, another screw up, what went wrong this time?” the creative thinker, on the other hand, will realize the potential value of errors, and perhaps say something like, “Would you look at that! Where can it lead our thinking?” and then he or she will go on to use the error as a stepping stone to a new idea. As a matter of fact, the whole history of discovery is filed with people who used erroneous assumptions and failed ideas as stepping-stones to new ideas. Columbus thought he was finding a shorter route to India. Johannes Kepler stumbled on to the idea of interplanetary gravity because of assumptions that were right for the wrong reasons. And, Thomas Edison knew 1800 ways not to build a light bulb.

The following story about the automotive genius Charles Kettering exemplifies the spirit of working through erroneous assumptions to good ideas. In 1912, when the automobile industry was just beginning to grow, Kettering was interested in improving gasoline engine efficiency. The problem he faced was“knockthe phenomenon in which gasoline takes too long to burn in the cylinder-thereby reducing efficiency.

Kettering began searching for ways to eliminate the “knock.” He thought to him, “How can I get the gasoline to combust in the cylinder at an earlier time?” the key concept here is “early”. Searching for analogous situations, he looked around for models of “things that happen early.” He thought of historical models, physical models, and biological models. Finally, he remembered a particular plant, the trailing arbutus, which “happens early,” i.e., it blooms in the snow (“earlier” than other plants). One of this plant’s chief characteristics is its’ red leaves, which help the plant retain light at certain wavelengths. Kettering figured that it must be the red color, which made the trailing arbutus bloom earlier.

Now came the critical step in Kettering’s chain of thought. He asked himself, “How can I make the gasoline red?” perhaps I’ll put red dye in the gasoline—maybe that’ll make it combust earlier.” He looked around his workshop, and found that he didn’t have any red dye. But he did happen to have some iodine—perhaps that would do. He added the iodine to the gasoline and, lo and behold, the engine didn’t “knock”.

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